The Protector
by Waendolien
Summary: Zelda is an arrogant and hot tempered princess. The peasant Link is exactly the opposite. But when he is appointed by the King to protect Zelda, will they be able to cope with one another? Can they learn to trust one another? R&R! UPDATED FINALLY!
1. Chapter 1

A story by: Waendolien

Summary: Zelda is an arrogant, hot-tempered princess who doesn't want anything do to with anyone of a lower class than her. But when the peasant Link is appointed by the King to protect her, will they be able to cope with one another?

Diclaimer: Urggg.. I don't own Zelda! So don't sue me!

**The Protector**

King Harkinan sat hunched forward from his throne, his elbow resting on his knee and his head propped up by his palm. His eyes were shut tight and his brow was furrowed, a small frown playing against his scraggly features.

To most people, he would appear to be a grand, magnificent, man, deep in concentration upon the symbol of his royalty. But in actuality, the king troubled and weary. His personal assistant and chamber servant, Francis, hovered anxiously next to him.

"I'm old," the king moaned suddenly, reaching next to him and grabbing Francis's bony upper-arm. "Look at me, Francis. I haven't slept in days. I'm in need of a shave. I looked wretched. Wretched!" He let go of his assistant's arm and buried his face in his hands.

"Y-you look f-fine, Sir," Francis stammered nervously, his orange curls bouncing and bobbing as much as he was.

"Don't lie to me," Harkinan snapped, looking up. Just then there was a knock on the chamber door. "Go on, go see who is," he sighed heavily, leaning back in his throne.

Francis bowed clumsily and skittered down the many stairs leading down from the throne, making his way hastily to the large wooden door. Harkinan listened to the sliding of the wooden window in the door, the murmur of two people talking, the shutting of the window, and Francis calling, "It's S-sir Dominic, King."

"Let him in."

There was the creak of the door and a knight entered, following behind Francis. As they reached the throne, Sir Dominic bowed gracefully and took off his helmet. He was a strong built, handsome man with long black hair, and standing next to Francis, who was short and scrawny, it was quite comical. King Harkinan suppressed a laugh.

"What news do you bring from the South?" the King inquired.

"King Harkinan, I bring ill news," the knight said solemnly. "I've spotted Gannondorf's forces moving swiftly from the southern forests. They appear to be moving north, towards the castle."

"How many allies did he appear to have with him?"

Sir Dominic thought for a moment. "About three-thousand, but growing as each day passes."

The King's mouth had suddenly gone dry. He paused, doing some quick thinking, and then said, "I want you to bring the other knights and scouts back here immediately. The only thing to do now is to prevent them from taking siege of my castle. You are excused." Sir Dominic bowed again and quickly made his way out of the chamber. The king sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes. "Francis, get rolls of parchment, a quill, and ink. I need you to make some notice signs for me."

* * *

A young man in a green tunic rode his chestnut colored horse on a narrow path through the forest. The man's name was Link, and his faithful horse was called Epona. The trees began to thin and Link could just make out a large black iron gate looming closer with each trod Epona made. 

When they were within a few feet of the gate, Link led Epona down a side path instead, which led to a horse stable. After he had dropped his faithful horse off, he slowly made his way back to the gate and quietly slipped in, trying to look unconcerned and nonchalant. Lately he couldn't walk around anywhere without people (mostly young women) following him around or flooding him questions. He had high suspicion that it had to do with him winning the annual town Tournament. He had beaten the former champion, Mido, who supposedly had had a winning streak held for four years.

He looked around the market place. It was a large, circular place, with a large, beautiful fountain in the middle. Tall white buildings housing stores stood around the perimeter of the town. There were also many vendors with their carts, who lined up along every possible empty wall space, shouting and waving their product around eagerly.

"Another day at work to get through," he muttered, walking reluctantly across the cobbled stones, his head bowed. But there's no mistaking a green tunic, especially if you're the only one who wears them. As he walked, a sudden outburst of excited murmurs broke out. Luckily for him, the weapon-repairing store he worked at wouldn't open for another half-hour, so he didn't have to worry about being bombarded by crazy townspeople… yet.

He quickly entered the shop and slammed the door shut. He adjusted the unusually large "Sorry, we are closed" sign so everyone could see it. "Ready for another day of great business?" said a cheery voice behind him.

Link turned around and glared at Popo, his fellow coworker. Popo was a portly, red-faced man, with frail wisps of blond hair combed over his balding head. He was quite an optimistic and boisterous man.

Popo didn't seem to have noticed the glare. "Ah, cheer up, lad!" he said cheerfully. "Think of it this way: the more money we get, the more money you'll get."

"Oh, that really helps," Link said acidly. "And I realize that, but this is getting out of control!" he added exasperatedly. "Just look at all of those people waiting outside! The only reason they come here is because of me!"

"Well, now, I wouldn't say that," Popo said, scratching the back of his head and looking unconvinced.

"Do you really think those young women come here to repair their weapons?" Link said irritably. "And I can hardly imagine the elderly carrying swords around with them." He walked over behind the counter and slumped down on a stool, staring hard at the ground, looking glum and defeated.

Popo stared at him fixedly for a moment, and then said with a slight smile, "Go on, Link." Link quickly looked up. "Get out of here. You deserve better than this. I was just so excited that we were finally in good business that I didn't realize I was hurting my friend."

"Seriously?" Link said weakly, slightly taken aback.

"Of course I'm serious!" Popo roared, walking over and slapping Link heartily on the back. "And don't you worry about me," he added with a wink. "There is no reason to mope because I know you'll be happier leaving here. Why, I'll find a new coworker quickly enough." There wasn't a trace of doubt in his rosy cheeks. Link grinned and got up from the stool.

"Thanks a lot, old friend," he said, shaking Popo's hand warmly. "I owe you one, some day." He began walking toward the front door and then paused. "Er… I think it's better if I go out the back door." The sound of the impatient crowd was audible now from outside the shop.

"Just what I was thinking," Popo agreed, motioning him to the door. "Oh, and I'll tell the crowd you were… eaten by moblins or something. That oughta wipe the crazed looks off their faces." Link laughed. "Say—" Popo placed a hand on Link's shoulder, preventing him from leaving, and dug around for something in his pocket. He pulled out a wrinkled piece of parchment. "Read this," he said, and looking, if possible, happier. It read:

To the knights of Hyrule:

This is an urgent message from King Harkinan. I need a knight to be appointed a special job for me, but only the one who proves himself worthy will get it. This is a serious and difficult job I am besetting on one of you, and it's not to be taken lightly. If you are interested, meet in the lower courtyard (with the bird fountain) at noon tomorrow. Bring your weapon of choice.

King Harkinan.

Link looked up, confused. "What's this about?" he asked.

"Don't you see?" Popo said, his voice quivering with excitement. "This is the perfect job opportunity for you! Why, you're better than all the knights of Hyrule! That tournament proves it! I heard, Link, some of those knights grumbling about your skill over theirs!" Popo's night job involved being a servant in the castle. He cleaned, washed dishes, and helped prepare breakfast for the next morning for the knights; word about anything traveled fast in the castle.

Link leaned against the door, his face a mixture of shock and pleasure. He surely thought the King's own knight's would be better then him. He imagined himself wielding his sword and slaying large and intimating monsters…The King himself would look deeply impressed, and would honor him with a large sum of gold and even the opportunity to be knighted…The other knights would be standing watching him with deep scowls on their faces because he was only a peasant…

Link's face suddenly fell. "But I'm a peasant, Popo, remember?" he said forlornly. "And he only wanted knights to do the job, anyway…"

Popo laughed merrily. Link stared at him in disbelief. How could he see the good side of this situation? "But Link, you can _prove _to these knights and the King that you're worthy of the job. Trust me. I know you can do it."

Link sighed. "There's no harm in trying," he said. There was sudden hammering on the front glass window. Link looked over Popo's shoulder and saw the townspeople pressing their face against the glass eagerly, some banging their fists impatiently or yelling, "Open up!"

"Oh, great, now they've seen me," Link said. He couldn't suppress a smile. Popo grinned as well. "I guess I can't tell them you were eaten, then," he said.

"Oh, what a shame," Link sighed sarcastically. "I was hoping if you told them I was eaten by a moblin, the entire town would rebel against Gannondorf and just kill him off for us."

Popo chuckled, but suddenly felt a sad feeling in his heart. He hadn't realized how much he would miss his best friend. "Try and visit me once and a while, will you?"

"Of course I will," Link said honestly. "I never forget my friends."

Popo nodded, feeling slightly better, and said, "Now go! Get going, lad. And good luck be with you."

"Thanks, Popo," Link said. Without another word, he slipped soundlessly out the back door and into the morning sun, making his way toward the castle.

* * *

**A/N: **Well, what do you think? Was it too boring? Too short? I'm really sorry if it was! Don't worry, the next chapter will be better. And Zelda WILL be in the next chapter. I'm not sure when my next update on this will be because school starts soon and I'm also busy with cross country. But this story is much more planned out than my other one, which is why I discontinued it, so I'll try to update this as fast as I can! PLEASE REVIEW! It would make my day!  



	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **...Wow. It's been about nine months since I've updated this. I'm really, REALLY, sorry! Seriously! But my school is so strict and acedemically-driven and everyone says 10th grade is the hardest year, and I had one heck of a tearful, trying, tedious, and stressful year. But now it's finally all over with! Ok I'll blab more of my apology on the bottom after the chapter. I hope you guys remember what previously happened. If not, I'll give you a little summary: Link worked at this weapon repair shop and his friend Popo showed him this letter from the King asking for all the knights of Hyrule to try out for this important job he had. At the end of the chapter, Link headed off to Hyrule Castle to try out for the job. Without further ado, here is the 2nd chapter!

Dislaimer: I don't own Zelda...

**Chapter Two: Tauntings, a Troll, and a Tearful Princess**

Link paused at the top of a steep, grassy hill, panting slightly and wiping the sweat from his forehead with his arm. Before him stood the majestic Hyrule Castle, with its impressively architectural towers, turrets, and windows, all surrounded by a narrow moat. The morning sun sent warm rays of sunlight on the castle, making it glisten and look like a pop-out from a fantasy book. Link stared at it in an awed, impressed silence. He had seen glimpses of the castle before, but he had never been able to see the entire thing in one glance. Without any further hesitation, he made his way quickly down the hill and onto the path that led to the drawbridge.

As he made it to the drawbridge, two guards stood on either side of the large, wooden castle doors. Link's heart sank; in his excitement he had forgotten to think of a good reason to be admitted into the castle.

"Hey, Morin, it's that smelly peasant from the tournament!" the guard on the left said loudly, not bothering to keep his voice down. He had a large, squashed-looking nose and a mole on his cheek.

"So it is…" the other guard, Morin, murmured. He had black hair with thick bangs that hovered over his small, beady eyes, which threatened to disappear completely from his face if he continued to narrow them. "Well, what do you want?" he added in a bored tone as Link stopped in front of them.

"Erm…" Link said hesitantly. He didn't want to say the wrong thing, so he decided to tell the truth. He cleared his throat and said politely, "I would like to gain entry to your castle to attend a meeting with the King-" He broke off as Morin rolled his eyes and huffed. "What was that for?" Link said, dropping his polite manner.

"Well, you can't just ask us to let you in, or anyone could enter the castle," he said in an annoying, matter-of-fact voice. "You need a permission document signed by any royal official of the castle to gain entry."

Link's worst fear was confirmed._ But I'm getting in there somehow, _he thought. _If these were women, I would turn on the charm…but in this case, I better turn on the lies._ "Well, the funny thing is, I had the document in my hand and…as I was coming over here, umm, a gust of wind ripped it out of my hands and uh…got away," he finished lamely. He wasn't very good at this, as it wasn't everyday that he was trying to persuade guards to let him into a royal castle.

Morin smirked. "I don't think so," he said softly, while the other guard sniggered stupidly. "Rules are rules. Now, I think it's best if you leave before you cause any trouble."

"Please, this is very important," Link said desperately.

"Rules are…uh, rules…yeah," the stupid guard with the mole said…stupidly.

_He seems pretty dim-witted, _Link thought, suppressing a smile. _Maybe I can convince him._ "Haven't you ever lost a paper to wind before, and you've tried to catch it but you couldn't?" he asked him in a business-like manner.

The guard quickly glanced at Morin and then said quietly, "Well…that has happened to me a few times…the other day, actually…"

"That is because you are stupid!" Morin spat. "The only thing you are capable of doing is guarding doors! Do not talk anymore, do you understand me?" The other guard nodded and stared at his feet, looking miserable and confused. Morin rolled his eyes and looked back at Link with an icy glare. "I suggest you leave now, unless you want me to arrest you."

"Arrested? For what?" Link said angrily, but stopped as a voice said behind him, "There you are, Link." Link whipped around. A tall, graceful woman stood at the end of the drawbridge. She was clad in a dark blue outfit and her thin, grey hair was pulled tightly in a bun to reveal a tan, lined face. Link had the indication just by her presence that this was a wise and influential person, even though he had no idea who she was.

"I've been looking everywhere for you," she said, smiling, as she approached them. Link looked up in surprise. She was taller than she looked from far away. "The King would like to see you immediately, Link," the woman said. She looked at the guards and her face hardened. "Open the doors," she said, her voice rumbling in authority as she stared disapprovingly down at them. Staring stupidly at her, they quickly nodded and called up shakily to the gate-opener to open the gate.

As Link and the woman walked passed, Link gave Morin a hearty smile. Morin's face reddened as the great doors slammed between them. The woman led him into a wide, spacious room. Link's jaw dropped; a strip of deep red carpet led to a grand, white marble staircase, which was flanked with the Hyrule flag on both ends of the smooth banisters. The wall at the top of the stairs bore two beautiful stained-glass windows depicting one of Hyrule's ancient legends. "The Hero of Time," Link murmured under his breath, staring in admiration at the warrior on the window, who stared solemnly back at him, legendary sword in hand, as yellow light radiated around him.

"Yes," the woman said proudly. "He's one of the most magnificent heroes in all of Hyrule's history. Now follow me." She opened a small door on their right and proceeded through it, Link following behind her.

The door led them into a narrow corridor with warm light spilling in from the windows. The woman turned her head. "Forgive me of my rudeness. My name is Impa. I am the Princess Zelda's caretaker. And please accept my apology for those idiot guards. I know they are rude, but they do their job well."

"It's alright. Oh, and I'm Link," Link said. "Er… thanks for helping me out back there. And does the King really want to see me?" he added quickly, feeling he would burst if he never asked.

"Not exactly," Impa said with a small smile. "It was I who discovered your incredible talent at the tournament. So, I placed one of the King's letters on your shop window, hoping you would see it." Relatively surprised by this unexpected answer, Link paused, and then said, "How come you didn't just ask me if I wanted to try out?"

"With that mob of crazy fans following you around like lost dogs?" Impa said, grinning. "No, I actually had an important meeting to attend with the King and other royal officials that day that would have meant trouble for me if I missed it. But later I realized that I should have talked to you because you needed a document signed by me to get into the castle, which is why I went looking for you today. Again, I'm sorry for the trouble on the bridge."

"No problem. And thank you very much," Link said again, feeling a rush of gratitude toward the woman he barely knew. She briefly inclined her head in acknowledgement and they walked in silence. Shortly they arrived at a wooden door, which Impa opened. Link was immediately greeted by the bright sunlight and the gentle breeze playing against his hair; they had arrived at the courtyard.

Standing by the bird fountain described in his letter was the King of Hyrule. His mouth was slightly open as he stared at them framed in the doorway; apparently he had been mid-speech. A large group of knights were grouped together on the other side of the fountain. Some glared at Link, but most looked at him curiously or in surprise.

Impa strode confidently over to King Harkinan and bowed. "Your Highness," she said.

"Impa," Harkinan acknowledged impatiently. "What's the meaning of this? And who is he?" He gestured at Link.

"This is Link, your Highness," Impa said. "He's the peasant who won the peasant's tournament two days ago. He is an incredible warrior, and I would highly recommend that he try out for your job."

Harkinan stared at them, dumbfounded. Then he unexpectedly burst out laughing. "Oh, good one, Impa! But April Fool's Day was last month, or else it would be called May Fool's Day!" A ripple of laughter passed through the knights, and Francis, one of the King's advisors, squeaked, "G-good one, sire!" Link had the strong urge to kick him.

Impa remained her ground, neither looking surprised nor angry. In fact, she was smiling. She waited patiently until the laughter died away and said, "I'm serious, your Highness. If you saw what this young man could do, you would be as amazed as I was when I first saw him."

Harkinan scowled. "I refuse to let this… this peasant try out! I mean, really, a peasant compete for the job of a worthy knight?"

"Since when does it matter if he is a peasant or a knight? Talent's talent, no matter who has it."

"Now really, Impa!" said Harkinan angrily, his face reddening. "It would be a disgrace to have a mere peasant among the glorious knights of Hyrule! And if I did let him become a knight, all of the other peasants would want to follow suit, and then we would have real trouble on our hands! And then there would be a lack of jobs and the economy would weaken and –"

"I never said I wanted him to become a knight," Impa interrupted calmly. "I merely want him to try out for your job."

Harkinan looked ready to burst. "I will not let him try out! Not today, not tomorrow, not ever!"

Impa's smile vanished from her face. "King Harkinan, it is time you put your past far behind you," she said, her voice rising. The sun seemed to shrink behind the clouds and Impa appeared to grow taller, her shadow bathing the King in darkness. "It happened years ago and it's not happening now! Thus, the peasants are different now. Or are you that narrow-minded, my Highness?" The King gulped and shrunk back nervously.

Impa continued, "Please, I am not trying to strike you down, your Highness, for where would my loyalty lie that I have shown you all of these years? I am merely trying to show you the truth. Why would it matter if the boy is a peasant or a knight? These are dark and difficult times; you know this to be true. And in the end, we are all just human."

The sun suddenly appeared again. Impa's shadow disappeared and she seemed to shrink back to her normal size. Her face calmed and she put a hand on his shoulder. "King Harkinan, am I not your most loyal advisor? When haven't you trusted me before over these many long years together? Please, trust me as you once did."

The King stood rooted on the spot, his face pale and sweaty. He hesitated. "You're right, Impa," he said gruffly, mopping his face with a silk handkerchief. "I have always trusted your wise judgment. I'm sorry I let my faith in you go awry." He sighed. "Yes, I'll let this boy try out. But if he fails, I never want to see him near the castle again."

Impa smiled. "Thank you, your Highness," she said. "You don't know what this means for Hyrule." Harkinan nodded, looking slightly flustered. Impa bowed once again, turned around, and strode away and through the door that Link and she came through.

"Yes, well…" Harkinan looked distracted. "Where was I? Ah, yes. This is Francis, one of my advisors." He gestured at the small man with the curly orange hair. When he calls your name, you will enter through those doors-" he pointed behind him to a pair of double doors at the other end of the spacious courtyard – "where you will compete in a series of tasks, testing your logic, wit, and most importantly, skill. Those who don't have these qualities-" his eyes lingered for a moment on Link; Link looked determinately back at him – "will obviously fail and won't be able to try out again. Good luck to you all."

Link gulped, feeling slightly nervous for the first time. The knights looked pretty impressive in their shiny armor garnered with Hyrule's symbol, compared to Link's faded, dirty tunic. The other knights turned away from him and talked together in low voices, looking in his direction every once and a while. Feeling a stab of annoyance from the knights and the really rude King, Link walked over to the courtyard wall and sat down against it, drawing his knees to his chest.

He had the feeling he would be called last, and he turned out to be right. As the sun moved slowly to the west, their shadows shortened, and so did the number of knights remaining in the courtyard. Link tried to clear his mind and relax. Ten men left, four left… Link was all alone now as the moon began to appear. He then heard one of the large doors creak open, Francis's head popping out, and his call of, "Er… peasant boy!"

Link got up so fast the blood rushed immediately to his head, his temples pounding. He walked quickly to the double doors, his heart thumping against his chest. He walked inside a room larger than the entrance of the castle, with four stone pillars spaced wide apart to add decoration. By the looks of it, it was an indoor training room; there were weapons of every kind lying against the wall, on the floor, and arranged neatly on racks; practice dummies with stuffing falling out of them lay scattered around the room; targets for bow and arrows lay against the walls, and obstacle course-type objects lay around the room. The King stood in the middle of it all, clipboard in hand, looking at Link disapprovingly as he walked towards him.

Harkinan sniffed. "First we'll start with a few basics," he said. "I want you to start by shooting three arrows at each of those targets. You'll stand at this mark." He pointed to a charcoal line on the brick floor, which stood about 20 feet away from the targets. Link nodded, feeling relieved; _I can handle this_, he thought. Harkinan handed him a bow and three arrows. Link examined the bow. It had certainly seen its days, but sometimes the worn out ones were more reliable. Link notched an arrow in the bow, faced the point of the arrow slightly above the target, pulled back, and let go.

The arrow shot towards the target, a brown blur, and hit the exact middle of the target. Harkinan's mouth opened stupidly, but fortunately for him, Link was standing in front of him. Link got the same results for each target. "Right," Harkinan said afterwards, scribbling something on his clipboard. "Now follow me; this is what you will do next…" And for the next half-hour or so, Link performed various tasks; punching stuffing bags with his bare fists, going through the different obstacle courses, and taking on different trained men with his sword. Each feat he performed almost flawlessly, deeply shocking but impressing the King.

Link jogged up to him, wiping sweat from his face and breathing hard. "V-very good," Harkinan struggled to say, as though he had never uttered the phrase in his life. Link nodded, hoping he was almost done. "There is one final test I want you to take," Harkinan continued. "You must knock out a mountain troll as quickly and efficiently as you can. You may use any weapons and any tactics that you desire."

Link's jaw dropped; he hadn't been expecting that. "Er… what if it kills me first?" He suddenly felt very tired and couldn't possibly imagine tackling a mountain troll after everything else he was put through. Before Harkinan could reply, one of the large doors opened and three very strong-looking men came through. "These men will help you if the mountain troll… ah… goes too far," Harkinan said, pointing to them. They waved at him cheerfully, as if they did this sort of thing everyday. "Ready, boy?" Harkinan asked, backing away from him slowly.

"Er-"

But Harkinan had already scuttled away to safety, and the men pulled in, with some difficulty, the troll. It stood about seven feet high, had a squashed nose and small beady eyes, and had tough, yellowish-tan looking skin. Its feet alone were flat and were about the size of half a surfboard, with very long, sharp-looking toenails. The men had brought it in by a chain around its neck. It roared angrily and swiped at them. The men dodged out of the way and went to stand by Harkinan.

The troll slowly turned its head and saw Link. It opened its mouth wide and roared, spit flying from it and releasing a very unpleasant smell. Link closed his eyes momentarily and exhaled deeply. Without warning, the troll launched at Link with one of its large, saucer-sized hands. Link rolled out of the way and made a run for one of the weapon racks.

He could hear the troll lumbering behind him, his gigantic feet shaking the floor. Link grabbed the nearest weapon, a fighting stick, and turned around, raising the stick over him just as the troll's massive hand came down on it. The stick snapped in half, but Link held onto both pieces and twirled them deftly. The troll's hand rose and came crashing down again, but Link step-sided and hit the troll on the side of the head as hard as he could, causing the stick to break again. It roared in pain and lumbered to the side to face Link.

It roared again as if trying to look intimidating. But Link was ready. With the other side of the broken stick, Link shoved it up the troll's mouth so it would stay open. The troll grunted and now turned its attention to the stick. Link took this time to grab a short sword from the weapon rack and did something both very daring and very stupid; he grabbed onto the swinging chain around the troll's neck and swung up onto the troll's back, then scrambled onto its shoulders.

The troll snarled and swung its arms up in an attempt to knock Link off. Link fended the gigantic hands off with the short sword. The troll then swiped at his legs, which were dangling over the troll's shoulders. This time Link wasn't fast enough; the troll's nails tore through his tights and left a deep cut in both legs. Link grunted in pain and slammed the hilt of the sword on top of the troll's head.

The troll howled and, like a bucking bronco, whirled himself around and around, trying to throw Link off. Link grabbed onto the troll's chain and pulled hard. The troll roared and stopped whirling around. Link then pulled the chain to the right. The troll, forced from the pain, moved to the left. The troll moved to the right when Link jerked the chain to the left.

Link smiled. _This is almost like riding Epona._ An idea suddenly formed in Link's mind. But he had to act quickly, for the troll was growing restless and angry. So Link, as if riding a horse, jerked the chain so that the troll was level with one of the stone pillars. He then slapped the troll's behind with the flat of his sword. The troll roared and lumbered quickly forward. Link repeated slapping the troll and would jerk the chain whenever the troll would veer off course.

The troll gathered speed as they neared the pillar. Blinded by pain and stupidly, it drove relentlessly forward. And just as it smashed into the pillar, Link jumped off his back and landed hard on the floor, falling backwards.

The troll grunted, looking dazed and cross-eyed as it spun around once, tripped over its own feet, and fell to the floor with a resounding crash that shook the foundations of the room. Link exhaled deeply and stood up shakily, his injured legs barely supporting him. "Unbelievable," said a voice quietly but distinctly behind him, startling Link; he had forgotten the King was in the room with him. He turned around to face Harkinan, who looked stunned but deeply impressed, an expression worn so rarely by him.

Harkinan studied him for a moment, then said, "Well done, Link; you are the best man I have seen all afternoon! Er…" he paused. "I am truly sorry I underestimated you. But even great Kings such as I can be fooled by appearances!" he chuckled. "You got the job, boy. Now, you probably know what it is, eh?" Link nodded.

"You get to be the Princess Zelda's personal guard!"

Link stared at him, the feeling of disbelief pressing against his chest. _Me? A bodyguard!_ _Maybe I misheard him._ "Excuse me?" he said, trying to keep his voice pleasant and firm.

"I'm appointing you as the Princess Zelda's personal guard! Isn't that exciting?" he said cheerfully. Link looked away to hide his disappointment. Harkinan, clearly thinking Link had turned away to hide a tear, said quietly, "now, I know this must be very emotional for you. I mean, it's such an important job, after all! And the pay will be quite excellent, for I'm counting on you to protect my daughter from anything that threatens her safety. And you're the right man to do it. The right man." Harkinan gave a great sniff and sighed. "Now I don't have to worry about her anymore."

Link looked back and smiled. _At least he's offering me a job, and the pay will be better than working in the shop. And, I've heard the princess is quite beautiful…_ "Thank you, King Harkinan," he said, bowing low. "This means a great deal to me." Harkinan clapped him on the shoulder, causing his knees to buckle. "Not a problem, my boy, not a problem," he said. "Now, let's go meet the Princess, hmm?" Link nodded and attempted to walk forward but nearly fell backwards. "Um… is there a nurse around here or –"

"Oh, right! I forgot about your injuries in all this excitement! Yes, we'll have someone bandage those up before we meet my daughter. Do you need any assistance walking?"

"I'll manage," Link said, "if we just walk slowly." The King nodded and headed out the large doors, Link following behind him. Before he left, he quickly glanced over his shoulder, seeing the men dragging the troll out, the enormous crack on the pillar, and the tiny pool of troll blood on the floor. This time, Link couldn't suppress a grin.

* * *

The Princess Zelda sat in an elegant chair, looking out the window of her room. The moonlight bathed over her pale, beautiful face and made her long golden hair shine with a lustrous glow. She brushed her hair slowly with a red brush, pulling her hair up and then letting it fall, shimmering and dancing, onto her back. She may have looked content, but she was far from it. In fact, she was seething with anger. 

"I don't need a bodyguard. I can perfectly well fend for myself," she snapped at her caretaker, Impa. "I know some magic, and this castle is well-protected as it is." She turned around and glared at Impa, who was undoing the covers of her canopy bed. "I'm sorry, Zelda, but it's what your father wants," Impa said, who had told Zelda in advance about the King's surprise job. Impa knew Zelda would react this way and didn't want her acting this way in front of her father.

Zelda slammed down her brush and said, "I refuse to be looked after all the time like a baby! I'm 17 years old and I think I'm adult enough to take care of myself!"

"Zelda, that's not the point," Impa said tiredly. "Your father loves you more than anything in the world, and he'll do anything to protect you. It's not about keeping you alive to preserve the royal family of Hyrule, it's because you are his daughter. And any father would do what the King did to protect what he loves. Goodnight, Princess." Before Zelda could reply, she walked out of the room and closed the door quietly behind her.

Zelda stared at the door, fuming. Deep down inside, she knew Impa was right and that her father had good intentions. She just felt like it was time she looked after herself for once. After all, Impa had been looking after her since she was born. But now Impa was too busy advising the King to fully watch over and take care of her. Zelda sighed and got up from her chair and was about to crawl into bed when there was a sharp knock on her door. "Who is it?" she called.

"It's your father. I have some news to share with you."

_I wonder what it could possibly be about, _Zelda thought, rolling her eyes. She had expected her father to tell her the news in the morning, but not at this hour. "Just a minute," she replied. She opened her closet, slipped on a robe, and went to the door, opening it. Her father stood before her, beaming. Behind him was a sweaty, handsome man in a green tunic who was staring at her with his mouth slightly open. She looked at him disapprovingly before looking back at her father. "You had some news, Father?"

"I certainly do," he said. "I would like you to meet Link." Link inclined his head politely, his cheeks glowing red. King Harkinan continued, "Link will be your personal guard from now on. I know," he said loudly, as the princess opened her mouth in protest, "that it is against your wishes, but these are dangerous times. Gannondorf has been spotted near Hyrule, and I'm afraid he might try and take over the castle." Zelda looked surprised. "Gannondorf? I thought he was defeated centuries ago!"

"We're not sure if it's the same Gannondorf the Hero of Time defeated, but this one looks exactly the same," the King said grimly. "And I want to protect you from him and all other evils. I love you Zelda, and now that your mother is gone, I don't want to lose you too. Please try and understand from a loving father's perspective," he said gently.

Zelda nodded. "Yes, Father, I understand. May I be excused now? I'm dreadfully tired."

The king nodded. "Link, I'll show you to your room. It's not far from here," he said, turning away. Link nodded and turned away, but not before he saw the princess swinging her door shut, her blue eyes swimming with tears.

* * *

**A/N: **You guys can yell at me all you want. I deserve it. When I had time to read stories on this website, I know that annoying feeling you get when someone is slow on updating. If you guys don't want to read this anymore, I totally understand. So, how was this chapter? I tried to make it extra long because I felt bad for my disgustingly long delay. Now that school's out (it was actually out last week) maybe I'll have more time to update. Oh, and if you guys noticed, I stole some things from the Lord of the Rings movies and included them in my story. Can you find them? Actually there might only be one. I'm too lazy to count. Anyway...

Thank you SO MUCH for those who reviewed my first chapter. They were all quite flattering...:) Here's a message for each of you:

**ShalBrenfan: **tear I'm glad you love it. You probably love it more than I do! Thanks so much!  
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**Encumbrance:** I'm sorry you had to wait so long...:( Thank you so much for reviewing!

Now I'm all teared up with emotion! I'm sick of saying thank you (even though I truely mean it), so I'll say it French! Merci, monsieurs et mademoiselles! Until next time, which hopefully won't be nine months, au revoir!


	3. First Day in the Castle

**A/N: **Here's chapter three! Hope you enjoy it. Btw, Link's thoughts are in italics (though I bet most of you knew that already!).

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda.

**Chapter Three: First Day in the Castle **

Link opened his eyes; a rich mahogany ceiling with wooden panels forming circular patterns met his view. _What a nice ceiling,_ Link thought pleasantly. _If this is just a guest room, it makes me wonder what the other rooms are like!_

Link stretched his arms upward and yawned; his bed was very comfortable and magically seemed to hold him in. The soft mattress soothed his tired muscles and bones and made him forget all of his troubles. But the thought of exploring such an enormous castle made him slowly crawl out of bed, his bones creaking like a wooden rocking chair. _I already feel like an old person,_ Link thought sadly, wishing he wasn't so out of shape. He smelled under his arm and nearly gagged. _At least I don't smell like old people, but I definitely need a shower…_

He stood up from his bed and tentatively took a step forward, testing his injured legs. They wobbled slightly and a slight searing pain went across them. He walked slowly over to the water basin on the desk and splashed crystal-clear water in his face. _Even the water here is better than ours_, Link thought, feeling wide-eyed and refreshed. He then looked around his room; last night he was too tired to look at it. It was small and quaint, which he preferred: it had one window, a bed, a desk with the basin upon it and a mirror hanging over it, a dresser, and a chair in the corner.

Link then noticed something on the wall next to his bed; it was a red rope that ran up the wall and then disappeared through a small hole. _Is this what rich people have as decoration?_ Link thought, walking slowly over to it. After examining it, he still couldn't understand what it was for, but he did know one thing: it was very tempting to pull. And Link did.

For a few minutes nothing happened. He was about to turn away from it when his door opened. Link turned his head to see who it was. A very small girl with thin, mousy brown hair and a plain grey dress stood there. She looked at Link and her eyes popped. She shrieked and tumbled out of sight beyond the door.

Link stared at the open door with his mouth slightly open. He looked around him, feeling really confused. Then he looked down at himself and his heart shot up his throat. He wasn't wearing any clothes! Link slapped his forehead and felt his face burning from embarrassment. _Poor girl!__She probably got the wrong idea about that…_He didn't even remember getting undressed last night. In fact, he didn't remember much of anything after meeting the Princess…

Link found his clothes and quickly changed into them. He decided to look for the girl and apologize, so he proceeded out the door, only to be immediately greeted by something solid. He looked down and the girl was standing there, her hands clapped tightly over her eyes.

"Um, I'm wearing clothes now," Link said awkwardly. "You don't have to cover your eyes." The girl, keeping her hands over her eyes, spread her fingers out just slightly and peered through the tiny crack. When she decided it was safe to remove her hands, she did and looked up at Link, her green eyes narrowed.

"I'm really sorry you had to see me like that," Link said, his cheeks glowing red. "You see, I've never been in a castle before, so I didn't know what would happen if I pulled that rope."

"So you like standing stark naked in front of windows, then?" she said, crossing her arms across her chest.

Link paused. "This is going to sound really weird, but I actually don't remember getting, um, undressed before I went to bed last night. I don't really remember much of what I did."

"Ohhhh, I see," the girl said. "I understand. But –" she leaned in and sniffed his clothes, her nose wrinkling, "you don't smell like booze."

Link's mouth opened in astonishment. "What? You think I was drunk last night?"

A thin smile appeared on the girl's face and she shrugged. "Well, that would explain why you don't remember anything. And besides, most of the King's royal guests drink heavily when they're here. You won't believe how many bottles of wine we go through around here…"

"I wasn't drinking!" Link said exasperatedly. "And I'm not one of the King's royal guests! Do these look like royal clothes to you?" He tugged at his filthy tunic, which sadly seemed to be attracting the attention of some annoying flies. "I was trying out yesterday for the King's job and –"

"Ohhhh, so you're Princess Zelda's new bodyguard!" she said, uncrossing her arms and staring at him in awe.

"Er…I prefer to think of my job as a…protector," he said, liking the sound of it better than "bodyguard."

"So you battled a TROLL yesterday!" she nearly shouted excitedly.

Link smiled. "So you can imagine that I was pretty exhausted after the troll and everything else I had to do last night, and so all I wanted to do was sleep. Do you believe me now?"

The girl put a finger on her chin. "Hmm…I suppose so." She suddenly thrust out her hand. "Hi, I'm Mara, and I'm a servant at the castle."

Link blinked. _This girl talks too fast for my brain to comprehend._ But he smiled and shook it. "And I'm Link. So if I pull that rope, a servant will come to my room and obey any order I command him or her?"

"Yep."

_I think I'm going to enjoy living here for awhile_, Link thought with satisfaction. Suddenly his stomach growled loud, so loud that several bugs skittered into the cracks in the wall and Mara looked around in wonder. "Was that a bear?"

"Uh, that was my stomach…I haven't eaten since yesterday's breakfast," Link said. "Do you mind showing me where I can get some food?"

"Sure." They set off together. Link was amazed at how big the castle was and how no two areas looked the same; there was always something unique everywhere he looked.

"Again, I'm sorry about that incident. I promise it won't happen again," Link said, still feeling embarrassed about it.

"It's all right. Thank the Goddesses I didn't see the front of you, or else I probably would have lost consciousness."

Link burst out laughing. "You're weird, you know that?"

"Oh, I know," she answered, smiling.

* * *

Link sat in an elegant chair at an enormous table. The table was heaped with plates of food that was enough to feed half the townspeople. The food ranged from roast pig (which provided an assortment of meats), eggs prepared in every single way imaginable, ten kinds of bread to be spread with jellies, jams, and butter, potatoes that were fried, hashed, and mashed, delicious, succulent fruits, and countless other foods. Link felt his jaw unhinge and his mouth water. He was so overwhelmed he didn't know where to begin! He was quite certain this would be the Holy Grail for Popo, smiling as he imagined his friend's expression if he saw this table. 

"Just take a plate and start piling on a little bit of everything," a voice said next to him. Link turned and saw Impa. "I imagine you're not used to these kinds of meals."

"Not where I come from," Link said and grabbed a plate, piling on anything in reach.

Impa sat down next to him and took some sausage links and a roll, spreading raspberry jam on it. "And this is only breakfast," she said. "Just wait until you see lunch and dinner!"

Link, too hungry to respond, began eating furiously, not even aware of what he was shoving in his mouth. "Excuse me for eating like this," Link said after swallowing a big piece of bread.

"Not a problem. I'm sure you're hungry after all you went through yesterday. By the way, how are your injuries feeling?"

"They still hurt a little bit, especially my right leg because the wound is deeper, but I'm managing ok."

Impa nodded and took a sip of orange juice. "Now, the Princess sleeps pretty late, but she'll come down here to eat, so you can wait for her here if you would like."

Link put his fork down. "Do I have to be with her at all times throughout the day?"

"Yes, that's what the King told me. But give her some space; she's quite sensitive about having someone watch over her constantly. And don't let her wander off, either; I know she'll try to get away from you."

Link nodded, hoping this wasn't harder than it sounded. Impa suddenly stood up. "I have some things to attend to," she said. "If you have any more questions, try and find me; the King is very busy and would prefer not to be disturbed. Good day." She walked briskly away, abandoning her half-eaten plate.

Link slowly finished his food and sat in silence, waiting for the Princess. He watched as some other people came down to grab a bite to eat, most of them looking like wealthy Lords and Ladies from some far-off country. A half-hour passed before he saw Zelda enter the room, wearing her usual pink and white dress. Link felt his cheeks burning. "Good morning, Princess."

But she didn't even look at him. In fact, she completely ignored him as she began piling food on her plate, sitting on the opposite far end of the table. "Ok, then," Link muttered. _She's more sensitive about me than I thought!_ As soon as she was done, she got up and quickly walked towards the door she had entered in. Link got up and followed after her.

He walked past Zelda and turned around so they were facing each other, forcing her to stop walking. "Hello, Princess. I'd like to introduce myself: my name is Link." He bowed. "You don't have to worry about being in danger. You may not trust me now, but overtime –"

"Listen, Link," she said coldly, grabbing his tunic and pulling his face close to hers. "Let's get three things straight. First of all, you won't talk to me unless it's absolutely necessary or if I talk to you. Second, you will always stay two feet behind me and three feet if we're in public. And lastly, you will obey my every order. Do I make myself clear?"

Link's mouth opened slightly; he had not expected Zelda to be this mean. "Y-yes."

"Good." With that, she let go of him and continued walking, her shoulder bumping sharply into his.

Link exhaled deeply and put a hand on his forehead. _This is going to be more difficult than tackling a mountain troll…_

* * *

Link followed Zelda's quick pace, making sure to keep two feet behind her. Zelda glanced back at him once and a while. After a while of walking, she entered a room and turned around, glaring at Link as he approached. "I'm taking a bath," she announced, "and it would be indecent if you, a smelly stranger, came in here. Impa is here with me, so don't go tattling to my father. We already agreed that you would not be with me when I'm bathing or using the chamber pot." And with that, she slammed the door in his face. 

Link sighed in relief. Now he had some time to be on his own and away from her. But now he realized how very lost he was and didn't know how to get back to his room. So for the next 15 minutes he wandered about the castle, trying to remember familiar things that he and Mara had passed earlier.

He finally came to a hallway and recognized a picture of a deceased queen upon it (who looked quite bored), which he knew was right outside his room. He entered the room and rummaged through the desk drawers, looking for parchment and a quill. He then moved the water basin, pulled up the chair, and set to work, writing a letter to Popo to tell him how he was doing and how royal life was treating him, not forgetting to write, in great detail, about his kingly breakfast.

He then went to the rope and pulled it. About a minute later Mara came barging in, breathless, as if she had ran up to his room. "Maybe if you would knock first, you wouldn't have incidents like the one earlier today," Link said wisely.

Mara scowled. "Did you make me come up from all the way in the basement just to tell me that?"

Link smiled. "No. I was actually wondering if you could do some favors for me." Mara nodded. Link continued, "Ok, first, I need you to fetch my horse, Epona. I completely forgot I left her at the stable, and -"

"Already taken care of," Mara interrupted. "Impa got him for you last night."

"That's good; I was worried about her. Then the only thing you need to do is deliver this letter for me in the town to the 36th house on Walnut Road."

"No can do," Mara said. "Sorry, but I'm not supposed to leave the castle."

"You're not? Why?"

Mara shrugged. "King's orders. I guess he's afraid I'll run away, and he doesn't want to lose any members of his most faithful family of servants."

"Wait…So you're saying that your entire family serves in this castle?"

"Yep. Our family has been here since the first King. We're all born and raised in the castle; I was born in the kitchen nine years ago in April."

Link looked at her in surprise. "So you've never been outside the castle before?"

"Well, I've been in the gardens and the courtyards, but I've never crossed the bridge before." She looked out the window wistfully. "I really want to. I get so cooped up in this boring castle."

Link suddenly felt pity for her but didn't know what to say. Instead he looked down at his letter. "I wonder how I'm going to deliver this, then."

"Give it to me. I'll give it to the man who delivers letters and packages to the townspeople. Sometime, I'll show you the box where you can put your letters in that you want delivered."

"Thanks," Link said, giving her the letter. He watched her skip away out the door, feeling grateful that he had at least someone he could talk to in this large, lonely castle. And he made himself promise that one day, he would take her across the bridge.

* * *

Link quickly regretted not asking Mara to direct her to Princess Zelda's bathroom. He spent the next half-hour looking for it in the complex, labyrinth-like castle, but to no avail. He was on the verge of kicking something in frustration when he saw her walking down a distant hallway and disappearing from view. 

Link ran hastily to catch up to her so he wouldn't lose her. But after he rounded the corner, she was nowhere in sight. Instead of running through hallways, which seemed to always get him even more lost, he decided to try some doors. He opened the one directly in front of him, which led him into a tiny courtyard, different from the one he was in yesterday.

Link scanned the area and saw Zelda sitting on a bench, looking at a cherry blossom tree. When he approached her, she turned her head and looked at him in disgust. "You're smarter than you look; I was hoping the castle would outwit your dumb brain."

"Hello to you to," Link said sarcastically. "Sorry, but it's my job. Don't worry; I won't talk to you anymore."

"Good. But still, I don't like your presence," she said, turning away from him. "It hangs in the atmosphere like the smell of a rotting carcass."

_Wow, she really is cold_, Link thought. _I can't believe she's that against having someone protect her! _

"Speaking of smell, you certainly need a bath," she said, her nose crinkling. "Is this the way all peasants smell?"

Link bit his tongue from retorting back; he didn't want to get in trouble. _But then again, the King wouldn't dare fire me because he was so impressed with me,_ Link thought, suppressing a sly grin. _And he probably wouldn't believe Zelda if she told him I was saying mean things because he knows how she's against me…_

"Well, we just admire you so much that we're only following your ingenious example," he said mockingly.

Zelda looked at him in surprise. "Don't get cheeky with me," she snapped, quickly composing herself. "I can tell my father in an instant and have you fired."

"Oh, I don't think your dear father will ever fire me. You see, I was the best man for this job and he was highly impressed with me. So I can pretty much say whatever I want to you."

Zelda stared at him in anger and opened her mouth, but couldn't think of anything to say. She shrieked and flung herself off the stone bench, storming off. Link smirked and followed after her, making sure to keep three feet away from her, just to be safe.

* * *

**A/N**: Yeah sorry if that was a boring chapter. I had fun writing it, so I guess that's all that counts, eh? So what do you guys think of Mara? I created her just to provide some comic relief and for Link to have someone nice to talk to. If you guys don't like Zelda's sour attitude, she'll obviously change as the story continues. And you'll find out later why she hates Link so much (it goes beyond what you already know; that she doesn't want a bodyguard). 

Thank you to my six awesome readers and reviewers!

**Dragon's Hitokiri:** Thanks for the review! I hope this chapter was good!  
**Hermione Granger 1598:** YAY! I'm so glad it made you smile! I hope this chapter did too!**  
Spiritual Stone**: Thank you for the grammar lesson! I'm always open for ways to improve myself as a writer, so I appreciate it. And thanks for the review!  
**Midnight:** Hehe! Thanks for reviewing!  
**Zestycrouton:** I burst out laughing reading your review! Thanks so much! Sorry there wasn't much action in this chapter...there will be later, though!  
**Belle89:** Thanks for the review:)

All right peeps, you know what to do. Click that purple button and REVIEW! (Oooh, that rhymed)


	4. An Astounding Revelation

**A/N: **K, this is kind of a long chapter. So sorry, **Lisilgirl**, that this isn't a short chapter! I actually read your review after I had already written most of it, soo..yeah. Don't worry, it's pretty rare that I'll write this much. I hope you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Zelda.

**Chapter Four: An Astounding Revelation**

"Slow down!"

Link and Zelda were riding through the forest that lay to the east of Hyrule. The reason they were out together was a "special bonding trip" the King had planned for them to go on. The King's decision for this little outing was, at first, supported by Zelda, who wanted to get away from the castle her father rarely let her leave these days.

But upon learning that it would include her currently least-favorite person in the world, she had quickly grown sullen.

"Slow down, damn it!" Link bellowed after the Princess, who had charged on ahead on her snowy white horse at a furious pace. "Fine, you want to play games? I'll play along, then. Come on Epona, let's show her how fast we can go!" But that idea didn't appeal to the chestnut-colored horse, who had stopped to munch on some delicious grass.

Link looked down at her in disbelief. "This is my warrior steed? I said, let's go!" But Epona completely ignored him and wouldn't budge.

He heard Zelda laugh from somewhere up ahead. "My father hired you to protect me? How pitiful!"

Link felt himself going red, and not from embarrassment anymore, but from anger. "Epona, are you going to let that ugly, royal, male horse beat you? You're really that weak, aren't you?" he taunted, hoping it would arouse her. And it worked. Epona's head shot up and she snorted in anger. Without waiting for Link's command, she charged forward.

But by wasting just a few seconds of precious time, they had lost Zelda's trail. After a short while, Link commanded Epona to stop, hoping she would in her sudden rage. Fortunately, she did, and immediately bent her neck down to eat more grass, acting as if nothing had just happened. Link looked down at her in bewilderment. _What are they feeding you in that place?_ He shook his head, dismissing the thought, and looked around him, but could not see Zelda or a white horse anywhere.

Link gulped and began to worry. _If I don't find her, I'll be executed for sure. What was that? _His ears had suddenly twitched; he heard a whooshing noise from behind him, as if something was flying through the air. He quickly turned around in his saddle and saw a medium-sized rock flying, with great speed, toward his face. Link's arm automatically rose up and he caught the rock in his palm, stopping it from smashing into his face.

Link, shaken, dropped the rock on the ground and looked over in the direction of where the rock was thrown. Zelda was there, perched gracefully on her horse, smirking. "What's the big idea? Are you trying to kill me or something?" Link said furiously.

"I was merely trying to get your attention. You're as blind as a bat."

"Oh, so the way to get people's attention is to chuck a huge rock at the back of their head!"

Zelda laughed lightly. "Well, that's my way with people I hate. Was my father drunk when he hired you?"

_What is it with people around here accusing others of being drunk?_ Link thought. He scowled and remained silent.

Zelda continued, "While your lazy horse was disgustingly engorging herself on grass, I found a place for our picnic."

Link's eyebrows rose suspiciously. "Picnic? I am not eating any food you handled." Link's thoughts immediately went to poison and, worst of all, girl cooties.

"Impa packed it, not me," she snapped. "Now hurry and follow me. The sooner we finish eating, the quicker we can get back to the castle and end this horrible rendezvous." And with that, she turned her horse around and trotted off. Link turned Epona around (who now seemed to have her fill of grass) and followed behind her.

They rode in silence for a minute or two before the trees began to thin considerably; Link also noticed that the ground underneath them was beginning to rise. Up ahead, he could see the cloudless blue sky and the sun.

As they exited the forest, the horse's soft trot changed to a hard clop; Link looked down and saw grey rock. Zelda called softly for her horse to halt and got off, tying his reigns to a nearby tree. Link followed suit and then followed Zelda across a rocky cliff to the very edge of it where the picnic basket was.

Link peered cautiously over the cliff; its sharp drop-off led to a raging river below. Beyond that was a beautiful valley: a field of purple and yellow flowers stretched endlessly across the landscape, looking like a delicate watercolor painting. Butterflies of every kind flew gracefully around, adding to the valley's beauty and innocence. In the distance he could see the majestic Hyrule castle, standing proud and solemn.

Link gaped at the sight in awe. "Wow...This is an amazing view!"

"Yes. I used to come here a lot as a child," Zelda said quietly, gazing at the landscape. Link looked at her in surprise. _Did she just say something nice to me?_ But as she turned to look at Link, her calm, beautiful face instantly shattered into a mask of anger.

"What are you staring at? And who told you you could talk? You know what, don't answer me. I prefer it when you're as invisible as possible." She then began unpacking the food from the basket with unnecessary force, looking flustered. Link rolled his eyes. _I guess I got my hopes up to high…What did I expect, anyway?_

They ate in a familiar, cold silence, looking at the scenery around them. "Pass me the salt," Zelda said after a while.

Link looked at her in mocking shock. "What? The Princess of Hyrule does not use proper table manners? I think the world is going to end!" In response, Zelda wordlessly reached her arm across the basket and snatched the salt herself. She unscrewed the top off and dumped it all unceremoniously into Link's pudding he was holding.

_You certainly like playing games, don't you?_ Link thought. _Well, so do I. _He scraped a large spoonful of his now salted pudding and dumped it into her water glass. "Oops," he said, pulling his best innocent face.

Zelda's eyes flashed. "I've had enough of this!" Enraged, she stood up and began throwing the food back into the picnic basket. Link felt his head throb in annoyance and walked back to Epona. He only stood there for a few moments before his supersonic ears suddenly twitched once again, picking up the patter of feet running quickly across the ground. Link whirled around just as Zelda hurled a cherry pie right on his head. "That's what you get for ruining my life," she cried, and ran over to her horse, quickly untied it, and took off through the trees.

Link stared after her in a mixture of shock and pure loathing. Wiping what he could from his head (Epona was licking his head interestedly), he got on Epona, untied her, and quickly followed Zelda. _Thanks for ruining my life, too,_ he thought, thinking wistfully of his old life and almost wishing Popo had never showed him that flier.

He looked bitterly ahead and saw Zelda in the far distance. _The King won't let me quit,_ he thought. _There's got to be a way out of this misery…_But no matter how hard he tired, he couldn't think of anything that would work. He then heard the rustling of leaves overhead, as if something big was moving about. Link told Epona to slow down and looked up at the canopy of overlapping trees, his mouth opening in surprise. Staring down at him through the leaves was an ugly, muscular creature with a bulldog-like face with a spear in its hand. Link blinked, but when he looked back at the thing, it was already gone.

As Link's heart rate returned to normal, he strained his brain; he knew, sometime in his life, he had seen a face like that before. But where? But the most pressing questions Link had were, what was that creature, and why hadn't he seen any of them around these woods before?

* * *

"Where are they now?" King Harkinan and a group of knights stood clustered around a table with an old map of Hyrule upon it. 

"They've made camp in these caves, about a two-day march from here," Sir Lyle explained, pointing to it on the map. "But they appear to be stationary – they've been there for about a day now."

The King nodded. "I don't know whether that's good news or not, but keep the scouts in their usual positions; we don't want to let our guards down, or they will do something unexpected. According to history, Ganondorf was very cunning and actually quite intelligent; he might already be aware of our presence without us knowing it."

"Should we…warn all of Hyrule about him yet?"

"Yes; we'll post official warning signs around and spread the word to as many people as we can. I leave the job to writing the signs up to all of you," he said, gesturing to the five knights around the table. "Write a rough draft of it, I will review it, and if I approve, I'll finish the rest of the official mumbo-jumbo. When I'm done, I will give them to you and all the other knights. Your job is to hand them out to as many people as you can across the entire country and post them anywhere you think people will look. The news of this will spread quite rapidly, so I'm sure everyone will be alerted.

"Now, is there anything else you wish to report to me?" The knights shook their heads. "Then you are dismissed," Harkinan said, waving his hand idly. "And I want that rough draft by tonight."

The five knights declined their heads respectfully and trooped out of the room. The King walked over to a wooden chair and was about to sit down when another impatient knock sounded on the door. The King groaned and put a hand over his heart. _I wouldn't be surprised if I got a heart attack right now from all this stress. _"Who is it, Francis?" he said wearily, easing slowly into the chair. _I don't care who it is, I'm not moving from this spot!_

"It's Prince Krishna Taesama, representing the country Pajan," Francis announced squeakily.

At the sound of the name, The King bolted out of his chair, his spirits rising with him. Feeling his previous troubles melted away, he called out cheerfully, "Ah, yes! Let him in, let him in!"

A tall man entered the room, wearing a long, white coat with blood-red under armor underneath it and tall brown boots that rose up to his knees. He had red-brown hair with thick bangs that hung over his green eyes, a thin mouth, and a long, pointed, handsome face. His eyes were dark and shadowed, giving him a cunning and mysterious look. He walked up to the King and bowed low. "It's a pleasure to see you again, King Harkinan," Krishna said in a deep voice.

The King beamed at him. "Same to you, Krishna. How is your family doing? Are they here with you?"

"They are well, thank you. And no, they decided to stay behind. Father is trying to keep the citizens calm, for a…mysterious evil has just passed through our country. Have you been disturbed by anything like that here?"

Krishna Taesama was the son of King Rujita Taesama, the ruler of the country Pajan, which was to the south of Hyrule. It was a custom that the royal families from different countries came together once and a while, whether that be for trading valuable resources not found in their country, or just hold feasts and festivities to boost their relations and avoid war. The Taesama and Harkinan families had had good relations for many years and were very friendly towards one another.

Harkinan's face hardened. "Yes. Our scouts have been keeping an eye on that evil. We believe that evil, in fact, is Ganondorf, a legendary man of our country's history. Do you know of that legend?"

Krishna nodded, his eyes sparkling mysteriously, almost eagerly. "It was told to me by my parents when I was younger and I find it quite fascinating. But what I want to know is how he returned to power."

"If it's the same Ganondorf," King Harkinan said nervously. "And I certainly hope it's not. If his reign of terror presided over us today as it did centuries ago, then Hyrule, and possibly the entire world, is doomed for sure."

"And why is that?" Krishna asked quietly.

"Well, to put it simply, the Hero of Time is long dead, and he was the only one who could defeat Ganondorf. He was just a human, unlike Ganondorf, who, I think, was close to a demon. And if I'm correct, it takes more than one time to kill a demon for good." He shuddered involuntarily. "But let's talk about something more happier, shall we?" he said, smiling. He clapped his hands together and rubbed them eagerly. "So, you are here for the usual business trip, I presume?

Krishna's eyes remained as cold as ever, although he smiled slightly. "Unfortunately, I'm not here for that, your Highness. This may come as a surprise to you, but I've come to ask permission for Princess Zelda's hand in marriage."

The King gaped at him in Krishna's predicted surprise. He then burst out laughing, his cheeks merrily glowing red. "I never thought this day would come!" he cried out. Without hesitating, he continued, "Because you are a trusted and well-respected family friend, I give you permission to marry my daughter! Oh, will Zelda be ecstatic. I know she holds a lot of respect for you!"

"Thank you, King Harkinan," Krishna said, bowing to him again. "You don't know how happy that makes me feel." But he didn't look happy or joyful; instead, he looked relived and satisfied. "Mother and Father will also be pleased to hear the good news."

An idea suddenly formed in the King's mind. "What do you think of the idea of a ball tomorrow night? That way, you can properly propose to Zelda, and then we can celebrate your engagement!"

"A brilliant idea. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to send a letter to Mother and Father so they can arrive here tomorrow morning. And thank you once again for your most gracious permission," he said, bowing his head.

"Not a problem, my boy," Harkinan said. And with that, Krishna turned around and strode out of the room.

The King sighed happily. "Oh, Francis, what wonderful news!" he exclaimed, grabbing his assistant and began, randomly, doing a fast-paced waltz with him, twirling and dancing across the wooden floor. "This day has turned out better than I thought. Zelda will finally be happy with me, she'll have a great husband, and Hyrule will have a glorious pair of successors after me!"

"That-that's good news, S-Sire," Francis panted, struggling to keep up with the King's pace in his jubilant dance.

"Oh, my!" the King suddenly let go of Francis in mid-twirl, who flew across the floor and crashed into a suit of armor. "I have so many things to do! So much preparation for tomorrow! Let's see…" Harkinan grabbed his chest again, his head throbbing. "The stress! The utmost stress of a King! All right, first, we must think of decorations. I know Zelda likes lilacs, and her favorite color is pale blue, so we'll put pale blue ribbons around huge bundles of lilacs as the primary decoration…White is a formal, proper color, so we'll use those as the secondary decoration…"

He paused and looked over at Francis, who was trying to disentangle himself from the heavy armor. Harkinan's eyebrows furrowed. "Francis, now is not the time to play! Act more mature and write this down!"

"Y-yes, Sire," Francis gasped out. "Oh, dear, oh, dear…"

* * *

Link had finally caught up to Zelda, who, as usual, fiercely ignored his very existence. They approached the gate together and Zelda demanded Morin to open the door. As the doors opened, Morin smirked at Link. "Having fun?" he said, grinning to reveal yellow teeth. Link gritted his teeth and remained silent as they passed. "Oh, by the way, you have something in your hair," Morin called as the doors slammed between them. Even though the door was shut, Link could hear the guard's laughter through it. 

As if out of thin air, Mara appeared in front of Link. "Hey, Link! Hey, Princess! How did it –" But it only took Mara a split second to register what had happened. "Ohh…not so good," she said in an undertone.

Link looked over sourly and saw that Zelda was still standing there. _Why is she still here?_ But then he noticed her head was turned away from him and was looking at the banister of the stairs, her eyes wide. Link followed her gaze and saw a tall man with red-brown hair and an odd white coat leaning against the banister. _Weird clothes…Must be a foreigner,_ Link thought.

Zelda squealed and ran over to the man, greeting him cordially with a big hug, which he returned. The man brushed her hair back gently and whispered something in her ear. Zelda's face turned sour and muttered something which looked like, "fine." The two of them then walked back towards Link, the man's arm draped around Zelda, who still looked harassed.

The man stopped and silently faced him. Link stared with surprise into his darkened, hollowed eyes. _I've never seen so much hatred and darkness in a man's eyes before…_Link's eyes narrowed suspiciously._ Already my heart tells me that this man is not to be trusted._

The stranger seemed to be studying him as well, his face emotionless. Zelda looked back and forth at them, wondering why they were staring at each other so intently. The man finally spoke. "You have the eyes and the face of a warrior. Tell me, what is your name?"

Link scowled. "And your eyes tell me you can't be trusted. Why should I tell you my name?"

"Link! Zelda said angrily. "Don't talk to him like that! Krishna Taesama is a very trusted man in our family! He's a Prince of the country Pajan! How dare you show such rudeness to a man our family holds in high respect–"

Krishna raised his hand. "Enough," he said softly. "He has every reason not to trust me. After all, we have only just met." Link continued to glare at him. _Something is not right about him…but what is it?_

"As I mentioned before, you're a warrior, and –"

"How do you know I am?" Link interrupted.

"I can see your sword and shield from behind your back," he said coolly.

"…Right," Link said, feeling really stupid.

"As I was saying before you interrupted me with your idiocy, I also wield weapons." He suddenly sighed, although his face remained emotionless. "And as my experience has increased, I have grown quite bored with the pathetic men I have fought lately. I crave for a good fight with someone at my level. And you seem like a worthy man to fight.

"Therefore, I challenge you to a duel. Do you accept?"

Link blinked. _This is certainly unexpected. Should I do it? He does seem pretty powerful, and it's been awhile since I've met someone with strength equal, if not surpassed, to mine. And I really have nothing to lose…_

"Your answer. Yes or no?"

"Yes," Link said firmly.

Krishna seemed pleased, although he didn't show it. "Good. Then meet me outside the front entrance to the castle tomorrow at dawn." He looked down at Zelda, who began blushing. "Come, Zelda. I have something I want to give to you." They walked away together, Krishna slipping his arm down to her lower waist.

Link watched them go bitterly, his brain still churning. _I must find out who this guy really is. And what does Zelda see in him, anyway?_

"Link."

But Link wasn't listening to whoever was talking; he was wound up in his storm of thoughts. _He's so cold and unemotional. Maybe he hypnotizes her with those creepy eyes._

"Link!"

_One thing's for sure, though: I must find out who he is. I can tell he's more than a Prince. Maybe he's corrupt. But who corrupted him? Mara or her family might know of something, since they've been here for a long time. And where is that girl, anyway?_

"LINK!" Mara shrieked, jumping up and down in front of him and waving her arms around wildly. "Heellllo? What's wrong? Snap out of it! Are you constipated? Do you not feel well? Are you jealous that Krishna's better looking than you and that he got Zelda instead of you? Are – "

"WHAT?" Link yelled, exploding out of his silent thoughts, his grim face shattering into one of disgust. "Jealous of them together? Haven't I told you how I can't stand Zelda? She's the last person I would want to be with! And Krishna's not better looking than me!"

"Yes, he is, actually," Mara said, giggling.

Link's face hardened. "Gee, thanks."

"But don't worry, I like you much better than Krishna," Mara said, nodding resolutely, her big eyes shining truthfully.

"That's a relief. So…who exactly is he, besides being a Prince of Pajan?" he asked, trying to keep his voice casual.

Mara shrugged. "That's all I really know. His family comes to visit once and a while to trade resources and boring business things like that. But sometimes they'll come and we'll have a huge feast and have games and tournaments! But…" She hesitated. "One thing that's weird is that Krishna changed one year. I first noticed it in his eyes, which became darker and seemed to lack…uhh…" She paused, trying to think of the right word.

"Life? Humanity?" Link suggested.

"Yeah! And what confuses me even more is that no one else seems to notice anything weird about him!"

Link shook his head. "No, I noticed something bad about him too, right when I first laid eyes on him. And already I don't think we should trust him."

Mara shivered. "I don't either." She looked at his hair and a huge smile crept up on her face. "You should really clean up before your fight with Krishna, or I don't think he'll take you very seriously!"

Link nodded and they walked together down to the kitchens, a place Link was quite fond of; Mara's family was extremely nice, and plus, they gave him as much food as he wanted, whenever he wanted. "So is Krishna a good fighter? Have you actually seen him fight before?" Link asked.

"Not that I know of. I've never even seen him with a weapon before, so I guess he does all of his training back at home." They had made it to the kitchens. Mara held up a mirror while Link attempted to wipe out the cherry pie from his hair with a towel. Unfortunately, he made the problem worse by spreading the red cherry goo through his hair, making it look red.

"Ah, man!" Link complained, rubbing more furiously with the towel. But that cherry goo stubbornly stayed attached to his blonde hair.

Mara was laughing, causing the mirror the shake. "Hey…you look good! Leave your hair like that!"

Link snorted. "You only like it because it's close to Krishna's hair color. And besides, I look like a mushroom." Mara burst out laughing, nearly dropping the mirror. "And hold the mirror still, will you?" Link asked. "Oh, never mind; it's no use. I'll have to use soap and water. This had better come out…"

After about 15 soapy, wet, and messy minutes, Link managed to retain his hair to normal. As he was drying his hair on a clean towel, that mysterious creature he saw in the forest suddenly flashed in his minds-eye. "Is there are library in this castle?" he asked Mara.

"Duh! What doesn't this castle have?"

"Good. We're going there after this, then."

"Why?" Mara said curiously.

"Well…I saw this creature in the forest earlier today that I had never seen before, so I was just curious as to what it was. All right, now to the library!"

"Right," Mara said. "Follow me!" After a few minutes of walking through the castle, Mara halted in front of two large oak doors, which were decorated with carvings of vines with little flowers that made wavy patterns across it. "Get ready, 'cause this is my favorite part of the whole castle. And when I think something is good, it's guaranteed to be good. Oh, and you have to be quiet in a library," she said, dropping her voice and putting her finger to her lips.

She opened the doors and Link's jaw dropped; he found himself in the largest room he had seen yet in the castle; 12 giants could all fit in there and would still have some room above their heads. On the ceiling were carvings of angels and demons, wizards and witches, warriors (including the Hero of Time) and other important people in history. But what impressed Link the most was the forest of thousands of bookshelves that were so tall that they went all the way up to the ceiling, causing Link to feel extremely small.

"How do those bookshelves stay up like that?" Link asked in a hushed whisper.

"Magic, of course," Mara said, smiling at Link's awed expression.

"And how do you get books from all the way at the top?"

"Look," Mara said, pointing. "The people in purple robes are a race called Nuemahs – basically, they're an advanced race of humans. Sure, they look human, but their intelligence and memory is a lot better than ours, so they know the location of every kind of book in the library. They use magic to pull down the books for you." And indeed, the one Mara was pointing to had his finger pointed all the way up to the ceiling and was muttering under his breath. A bubble suddenly burst forth from his hand and traveled up to the top of the bookshelf. The bubble squeezed itself through the book and, with the book now floating in the bubble, it sailed back down into the man's open palm. The bubble then burst and the book lay, dry, in his palm.

"Incredible!" Link said. "How many books are here?"

Mara shrugged. "I dunno. But you can find books on anything here. If you want a book about clouds, you ask one of the Nuemahs and they'll pull down about 500 books just on clouds for you!"

"Since you say they're really smart, maybe if I just describe the creature to them, they'll know what it is." He and Mara proceeded up to the nearest one, who had long black hair. "Excuse me," Link said. The Nuemah turned around and Link quickly stifled the urge to gasp. The Nuemah looked like a normal human being, except one thing; its eyes were milky white, like how blind peoples' eyes would look.

"I was, uh, wondering if you could help distinguish a certain creature for me," Link said quickly, hoping the Nuemah hadn't noticed his staring. But the Nuemah was also staring at him with the most peculiar look on her face. Link's voice faltered as she continued to stare at him with her white eyes, making Link feel highly self-conscious. It was as if she was scanning him and looking right into his soul. Finally, what seemed like a century later, her face relaxed and a huge smile exploded onto her face.

"It is an absolute honor to meet you," she said excitedly. "I'm so glad we have finally found you! But I'm sorry, I'm getting off subject. Please continue."

It took a moment or two for Link to find his voice. "Well, it, umm, i-it looked like a bulldog and…It was really muscular and was carrying a spear. And I've never seen one around here before."

"I think you might be describing a moblin," the Nuemah said. "Follow me. I know the perfect book that will confirm your descriptions." She walked past him at a fast pace, Link and Mara turning around and following after her.

"Sorry, I forgot to warn you about their eyes," Mara added in an undertone. "I was kinda shaken too when I first saw them. And what does she mean by, 'we have finally found you'?"

"Yeah," Link whispered back. He obviously wasn't even listening to what Mara had just said. He was thinking about what the Nuemah called the creature: a moblin. _I don't get it; I thought moblins were cronies of Ganondorf centuries ago who disappeared when Ganondorf was defeated. So if that was a moblin, does that mean that Ganondorf has returned? And why was that Nuemah staring at me like that? It makes me have the feeling she knows something I don't know…_

He tried to keep it off his mind as they walked through the bookshelves, which loomed over them like gigantic mountains, making him feel even smaller than how he felt when he was looking at them from a distance. They finally halted. The Nuemah paused for a moment, her white eyes searching the bookshelf in front of them.

It didn't take her long to find the book she wanted; it was close to the bottom, so no magic was required. She grabbed it out with her hands and immediately opened it to a certain page. "If you need any more assistance, I or someone else will always be around," she said. She gave Link one last smile before gliding mysteriously away.

Link quickly scanned the page about moblins, Mara leaning on his shoulder and peering over him. The text described the moblin exactly how Link had seen it. "I guess I really did see a moblin."

"Does that mean that Ganondorf has really returned?" Mara whispered, her eyes wide and fearful.

"I think so," Link said. The two of them stayed silent for a moment, each ensnared in their thoughts. "Well, I guess I should prepare myself for tomorrow," Link said. "Come on, let's leave." But the book was extremely heavy, and because Link's hands were sweaty, he dropped the book on the floor, causing a loud clang which seemed to echo on forever with the cavernous ceiling above them.

Link cringed and Mara held her hands up to her ears. "Sorry," Link whispered. He picked up the book, which had opened to another page. Link looked at it curiously. This page was about the legendary Hero of Time. He glanced nonchalantly at the text and then looked curiously at the Hero of Time's family tree.

He then saw one, tiny, inked word that made his heart stop: Lunana. That was his mother's name! "Mara, look: my mother's name is on this family tree!" he said, pointing to it.

"It could just be a coincidence…Is your father's name Haylas?" she asked, looking over at the name that was connected to Lunana's.

"Yes!" Link said, not even aware that he was trembling. _Do I dare look farther__up?_ He did, and his heart pounded even harder against his chest. "My grandparents' names are on there, too, and my great-grandparents!"

"So…so that means…" Mara said, her eyes wider than ever.

Link's throat had gone extremely dry. "That I must be related to the Hero of Time."

* * *

**A/N: **Ok, I'm going to get this out of the way so no one pesters me about it in reviews: I know Ganondorf is a Gerudo, but I'm making him sort of demonish for my story; I hope nobody has a problem w/ that! And is Krishna's name weird? I don't like it, but it reflects his personality (it means black and dark in Sanskrit). I had one heck of a time trying to find a good name for him. All of the other names I made up, but I wanted an actual name for Krishna b/c he's an important character. 

Thanks, **Janus Kamaren, **for your correction and the warning! Man, that sucks! So how do I personally thank people for reviewing my story? Do I press that link that says "reply" when you're viewing your reviews? It's so UNFAIR! I guess it's not the end of the world... At least I can say a collective thank you to everyone who reviewed. Thanks, guys! I love reading your nice reviews with great feedback, corrections, and support! Keep em' comin'!

Up next: The story becomes darker and more serious (but I'll try to add some of my lame humor to it). Also, a lot more action, such as Krishna and Link's duel and some stuff that I don't want to tell you (why would I want to spoil it?)! Until next time, see ya:)


	5. Ganondorf's Second Man

**A/N: **Chapter five finally up! It took longer to write than I had hoped, but it's finally here. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda...

**Chapter Five: Ganondorf's Second Man**

Link was lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling unseeingly. No matter how many times he closed his eyes, they would snap back open. He shifted restlessly; his brain was buzzing with the strange events that had unexpectedly unfolded that day.

The night hours melted away and the light of the moon began to shift quickly from his face, moving him closer to the fight he would soon have with Krishna. The uncertainty of the duel plagued Link with questions and "what if's", for he didn't know Krishna's weapon, fighting style, or strength.

But what preoccupied his mind the most was what he and Mara had discovered in the library: that Link was a descendent to the Hero of Time. To Link, this was, of course, very shocking, but it seemed to fill the small void that had lingered in his early childhood, a childhood he had left behind until now.

Although Link was still awake, his room disappeared as a flashback of when he was six years old erupted in his minds-eye. He and his father, Haylas, were sparing with wooden swords in the open pasture near their house. He had just parried his father's attack and jabbed at his face, hitting him square in the nose.

His father keeled over, fresh blood flowing from his nose. Link remembered the feeling of dismay he had had, fearing his father would yell at him. Link's eyes filled with tears. "Father, I'm so sorry, please forgive me –"

He stopped talking as Haylas smiled broadly up at him through the blood. "It's all right, Son; that's what you're supposed to do!" He chuckled, his eyes glistening with happiness. He put a hand on Link's shoulder. "And I couldn't be prouder of you. You are far better than I had expected you to be at this age!"

"Thank you, Daddy," Link said, sniffing loudly and managing a big smile.

"That's my boy," Haylas said. "No need to be upset!" He got up and, ripping a piece of cloth from his shirt and holding it up to his nose, continued speaking. "I can't wait to see what kind of swordsman you will become; but no matter what, you will do your entire family proud." He lowered his voice. "I'll let you in on a little family secret, Link. You see, our ancestors aren't just ordinary people. The making of a great swordsman has run through our blood and continues to flow through you, thanks to one man."

"Who?" Link asked curiously, wiping his face from stray tears.

His father boomed with laughter. "Ah, young lad, I can't tell you that now! I will tell you at the right time, when you have come of age."

"Why?" Link asked, his blue eyes wide and shining.

Haylas thought for a moment. "Er, well…I honestly don't know. It's just a family tradition! And besides, if I didn't do that, I would probably be cursed for all eternity by our deceased family! And we don't want your old man to turn into a lunatic at 35, do we? Now, come on, we have no time to lose! We must keep training you! Don't worry, my nose will be fine. Try and hit me again!"

As the years passed, Link quickly excelled in his training and became near a paper's width of an expert at swordsmanship, archery, and his boomerang. He eagerly waited the day he would find out who his ancestors were that his parents talked about so highly. It was frustrating at times, fighting but not knowing who he was fighting for or why. His curiosity burned harder the closer he got to 16.

Link came out of his flashback and sighed heavily. He turned over on his side, staring out the window at the stars twinkling at him. His eyes stung with tears as another, more painful, memory flashed in his minds-eye. He was thirteen years old and he had gone fishing for that night's supper. He was walking under the stars on the dirt path that led to his house, whistling a country ditty. He remembered seeing smoke curling up through the treetops and the profound smell of burnt wood.

Anxious, he ran all the way back to his house, his fishing gear banging against his legs. As he rounded the bend, his heart stopped. His house was no longer standing; all that remained was a desolate pile of ashes and some wood that hadn't burned all the way. Link's head was strangely blank and he felt sick to his stomach as he walked slowly through the rubble.

Every step took great effort as the damage got greater. Almost everything was reduced to black ash; things that survived the flames could no longer be used. He took a sharp intake of breath as he saw a charred hand sticking up from the rubble. His chest tightened as he recognized his mother's ring on the ring finger. Hands trembling violently, he shifted through the blackened rubble. He froze and the world seemed to pause for one moment; there laid the charred, blackened bodies of his parents, mutilated and skinned to the bone.

He felt like crying but couldn't. He felt like screaming but his voice had given out on him. All he could do was run, run away from the gruesome, horrifying sight that was engraved in his mind. He knew he could never return. Out of grief and anger, blaming himself for not being there, and the responsibility of building a house and starting a new life, Link quickly forgot his eagerness to learn of his family's past and never thought about it again, until that very instant that he saw the inked name of his mother on the Hero of Time's family tree.

Link came out of his flashback and looked sadly into the sky. He wished he knew how the fire had started. He assumed someone else purposely did it, for the way that his parent's bodies were treated and the fact that he knew his parents wouldn't allow themselves to be burned to death in their tiny house.

Link suddenly remembered a more vague, indistinct memory, one that he could barely remember; the awful night his parents perished in the fire, Link remembered, while running away through the forest, a strange creature was chasing after him. It gave up the chase after a while, but Link would always remember that ugly, bulldog-like face...

Link quickly sat up. "It was a moblin," he whispered. The creature that was chasing him was a moblin! _Does that mean the moblin destroyed my house? If Ganondorf was alive back then, was it on his orders?_ He closed his eyes and angrily held his tears in.

But now that he knew who he truly was, he wouldn't let his parents down. He would fulfill what he was born to be. "I will not fail," Link said out loud, trying to keep his voice steady. _I will do anything I can, even if it means defeating Ganondorf, if he has truly returned. _

He could shut his eyes now, but his mind was still wide awake. The prospect that he was related to the mighty warrior of Hyrule's legend still seemed unreal, yet, filling it in his childhood, it made sense. He slipped off his mother's ring and squeezed it tightly, unable to hold in his grief any longer.

* * *

The rest of the night, Link drifted restlessly in and out of sleep, haunted by strange dreams that held no meaning. His eyes snapped open and he turned around, looking out the window. Soft pink and yellow strips swirled across the dulling black sky. _Dawn is nearing, _he thought, groggily getting out of bed and washing his face off in the basin. 

He then slung his sword and shield over his back and pulled the rope. Mara said she wanted to be with him before the duel, which Link found encouraging. After a minute or two, Mara barged in the room. Link grinned at her. "Still don't know how to knock?"

She frowned. "Hey, we promised to meet, so I figured I didn't have to."

"I know, I'm just kidding. Let's go get some food." They proceeded together to the place that Link had eaten his first meal. They talked animatedly the whole way down there, thinking up various ways that Krishna could "accidentally" die.

Link smiled to himself; he was relived that Mara still treated him the same way now that she knew of his famous ancestors. The only change was that she seemed to respect him more.

After a quick breakfast of water and toast (for Link), he and Mara made their way to the entrance, Link's heart pounding with the unexpectedness that currently surrounded his opponent, his tiredness being replaced by anxiety. They reached the huge front doors, but Mara stopped suddenly. Link looked at her quizzically.

"I'm not supposed to leave the castle, remember?" Mara said, looking disappointed. "Besides, I've been kind of neglecting my chores ever since you've been here."

Link immediately felt guilty. "I'm sorry, Mara. If anyone yells at you for that, you can totally blame it on me. I guess I have been a distraction."

Mara shrugged her shoulders. "It's ok, really. I have to clean all of the windows on the east side, so I'm sure I'll be able to see your duel from up there. Well, good luck, even though you don't really need it. I mean, the Hero of Time himself will be watching over you and will grant you God-like powers to win!" she exclaimed, her face shining with confidence.

"Thanks a lot, Mara," Link said, managing a small smile. They departed, and as Link headed through the door, his heart began to race faster. He wished that he could feel the same confidence Mara did, but he felt strength from her support.

Once he crossed the bridge (thoroughly ignoring the guards) he looked around him. Krishna was standing to the left of him. He was all alone. Link swallowed and made his way over to him. "You're late," Krishna said, looking up at the sky. "It's already past dawn."

"Uh, sorry," Link lied, scowling at him. "Well, should we get this over with?"

Krishna lowered his gaze and looked at him with darkened eyes.

"'Get this over with?' You are about to engage in a real duel. Take it seriously. I will not waste my time fighting petty, inexperienced boys."

"I am taking it seriously!" Link protested. "I've never had a duel before, so excuse me for not knowing the proper procedures!"

Krishna smirked. "First off, the rules to a duel are always different. It's however you want it to be. Upon saying that, no two duels are usually ever the same. Now, my rules are simple, but I'll explain it very slowly so you can comprehend what I'm saying."

Link's eyes narrowed, ignoring his insult. "Your rules? Why do you get to make them up?"

Krishna sighed. "You really are a country boy. I was the one who challenged you to the duel. I'm a Prince and thus have a higher rank than you. Therefore, I get to make up the rules. Now, the rules: You simply fight your opponent until you strike him down and he can no longer rise. There isn't a set boundary, but just stay in this area. Any questions?"

"…That's it?" Link asked. _That's too easy!_

Krishna frowned. "Yes. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, no…And we can use any weapon technique we want?"

"Yes."

"And…how far are we aloud to go?"

"What do you mean? Oh." His lip curled slightly, although his eyes remained emotionless. "Unfortunately, I don't have permission to kill you. I would certainly be punished by the King. And he would surely execute you if you killed me, although that's not even possible. So…You're Zelda's new bodyguard, eh?"

Link winced. _I'm not a bodyguard!_ "Er, yeah. Why?" He smirked. "Are you jealous of all the attention I'm getting from the Princess?"

"Attention? I think you mean unwanted attention. I've never heard her curse so much when talking about how much she loathes the idiot peasant boy. No, I just wanted to inform you that you'll soon be heading back to the slums permanently, where you belong."

Link looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"It means as soon as I marry Zelda, which will be soon, she won't need you anymore. She'll have me."

Link gaped at him. _Married?_ He shook his head. He didn't care about that, or the fact that he would have to return to his old job and get paid so much less. He was just surprised that his job had only lasted two days and that the King didn't even tell him about this.

Krishna continued to gaze at him. "Surprised the King didn't tell you? Feeling jealous? That's the way the world works, boy. The rich stand on the ungrateful, powerless heads of the poor and always will. Get used to this natural fact of life."

"Shut up!" Link snapped, his temper rising. "The rich may be better off than the poor, but that's no measure of strength! If you hadn't noticed, the King selected me out of all the knights of Hyrule to protect Zelda!"

Krishna's eyes remained cold, but his smirk quickly disappeared from his face. "You're starting to get on my nerves. Today I will teach you an important lesson that I'll make sure to drive through your thick skull. Peasants are lowly scum that don't deserve to hold anything but a shovel and hoe. The rich and wealthy hold the power and strength. That's the way mankind was made, and that's the way it's going to stay!"

"Oh, yeah? Prove it!" Link yelled. He slid out his sword and held it parallel to the ground, the point of his sword pointing at Krishna's chest. He also took out his shield, holding it in front of him.

Krishna's eyes flashed, his scowl adding to the immense darkness of his face. With a flourish of his weird trench coat, he pulled out his weapon. It was a long, wide sword, an enormous weapon of steel that looked incredibly heavy and deadly. With his left hand he pulled the weapon above his right shoulder and twisted his body to the side, readying himself in battle position. His thin mouth barely opened to utter one, single, electrifying word:

"Come."

But Link had already advanced. He flew forward and swung his sword to Krishna's unprotected left side. But Krishna twisted his body around so that Link's sword met with his. Krishna forcefully shoved Link backwards and onto the ground, swinging his sword downwards in one powerful, swift stroke. Link rolled out of the way in time and swung at Krishna's open back.

But Krishna seemed to be able to read his moves. As soon as his sword had hit the ground he jumped into the air, over Link, and landed behind him, as Link's sword swished through open air. Link whirled around and blocked a blow from Krishna's sword. _He's fast,_ Link thought. _I'm struggling to keep up with him… _

The two of them then engaged in a series of swings, blows, and fancy footwork, trying to find a spot to hit but always hitting the other one's weapon. The nice morning, the present moment, and the entire world seemed to leave them behind; they were locked together in a furious, graceful dance, their feet moving along to the rhythm of the swords clashing upon one another in bitter, angry steel.

Link broke free from the dance and somersaulted through the air, landing behind Krishna in a second attempt to get him from behind. But again, Krishna whirled around with deft speed and blocked his blow. Link began to feel annoyed. _He's an equal match for me…I can't break through his barrier! If only I could find a weakness…_

Krishna yelled and began swinging his sword around and around in a circle. He gained speed and was soon so fast that both he and the sword were a mere blur, creating a whirlwind of death that caused the leaves on the ground to blow, disturbed, into the air around him. Link jumped backwards out of the path of the blade. But Krishna moved along with him. _I can't dodge this for much longer,_ Link thought, breathing heavily. _He's doing this to drain my energy! How can I attack him with the shield he's made around himself with his own sword?_

The answer came to him like a bullet. _His head is unprotected! If I can somersault into the air and strike at his head, it'll surely knock him out and win. _He took a deep breath. _I hope I make it; this is going to be hard to pull off. Well, here goes nothing…_ Link crouched down. With a yell he leapt through the air with all of his might, flipping over the whirling weapon. _I did it,_ he thought excitedly as he began to fall towards Krishna's head, holding the flat of his sword out. _I'm going to knock him out – _

"Above!" Krishna suddenly roared, swinging his weapon up right at Link. Link gave a cry and frantically held his sword up to protect himself. But he wasn't quick enough and the surprise of the sudden attack and the strength of it smashed both hands and sword into his chest which vibrated through his body, causing the sword to fall out of his damaged hands. Link fell to the ground, his shield banging against his body. He lay in a crumpled heap, his chest painfully rising and falling and sweat dripping down his face.

He was bathed in shadow as Krishna loomed over him, shouldering his weapon. "Did you really think you could have won, boy?" he said, looking at him impassively.

"It's not over yet!" Link said fiercely, struggling to get up from the pain in his chest.

Krishna sighed. "You are really annoying," he said. "And I didn't believe anyone's skull could be that thick. How can you fight without your sword? It's over."

"I still have my shield!" Link roared, jumping up and slamming his shield into Krishna's face. Krishna's face twisted in anger as he fell backwards, blood pouring from his nose. Link took this opportunity to scramble over and grab his sword and then ran back to Krishna.

* * *

Ganondorf sat on a large stone rock, picking his teeth with a long, dirty fingernail. He was in a large, spacey cave, where his minions were lying lazily around; they were sleeping, eating, or picking a fight with someone. Ganondorf spat a piece of feather out from his mouth. "Damn him…Where is Gulir? I sent him yesterday! Noslin, come here!" he roared out. 

A moblin who was standing guard outside the cave scrambled in. He bowed down and kissed Ganondorf's foot, murmuring, "What is it you inquire, my Liege?"

Ganondorf grabbed him by the skull and pulled him upright, leaning in close to his face. "Have any of the scouts seen Gulir yet? I sent him late yesterday and he hasn't returned yet!"

"We have not seen him, Lord Ganondorf. But we will keep a sharp eye out for him, as we always do, my Lord."

Ganondorf closed his eyes in annoyance. "My patience is growing thin," he said, his forehead throbbing. "I have waited far too long for this and I don't want to wait any longer! I long for the sweet, vengeful taste of blood that I have been deprived of for too long!"

"Does – does that mean we get to eat the human scouts now, my Lord?" Noslin asked eagerly, licking his lips.

Ganondorf smiled evilly. "Not until Gulir has returned. We must find out first what Krishna has to say. We don't want to give our intentions away just yet. They know we're here, but they don't know what we plan to do."

"Oh, please, Lord, I'm so hungry!" Noslin whimpered softly. "What if we just take one of the puny ones? They don't need their arms…"

"Ah, shut up, you great glutton!" Ganondorf said loudly, shoving Noslin away from him. "You just ate! Now get back to the front and keep a sharp eye!" Noslin murmured something, bowed his head respectfully, and swiftly made his way back outside.

Not a few moments later did Gulir appear. He scuttled up to Ganondorf and greeted him the same was Noslin did, although he was trembling terribly. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" Ganondorf said dangerously, grabbing the back of Gulir's head and wrenching it up so the frightened moblin was staring into Ganondorf's threatening face. "Speak!"

"I-I'm sorry, my Lord," he cried, his voice shaking. "The humans saw me and tried to kill me. I had to get away from them, or else my message would never have been delivered. I had to do it, f-for you, my Lord! Please forgive me for being late!"

"All right, all right, stop blubbering," Ganondorf said, releasing his fingernails from Gulir's skull and letting go of him. "Now, what is Krishna's message?"

Gulir looked relived and stepped away slightly. He said confidently, "Krishna has made it to Hyrule. He said all is well with his relations with the King and the Princess and that no one suspects anything. He also said that tonight they will be holding a celebration for his and the Princess's engagement. He said it would be the perfect time to follow through with the plan."

"That is definitely good news. Better than I expected it to be. All right, listen up, everyone!" he said, standing up. A few moblins sat up and stared at him, but the rest continued in their lazy activities.

"LISTEN UP!" Ganondorf bellowed. "Or I'll skin your hides and eat your worthless flesh!" That got everyone's undivided attention immediately. "Good news, boys. Tonight we will be dining on human flesh!" A roar of happiness rose from the creatures, as they stomped their legs and waved their weapons around.

"We attack Hyrule Castle as soon as the sun has set. Now, shut up and listen to the plan." The cave became quiet. "Anyone who disobeys or makes any mistakes whatsoever will be personally killed by me. Now, we are going to make a wide path around the castle to the back of it. There's a secret tunnel that I know about that I used the first time I was here. I don't even think the King himself knows it's there! What a fool!" The moblins roared with laughter.

Ganondorf continued as the laughter died down. "Once inside the castle, kill all who are in your path, except the Princess and the King. Krishna will kidnap the Princess, and your job to make sure her or the King don't escape the castle! Destroy the damn place as much as you want, kill whoever you want, steal whatever you want, but most importantly, spread chaos and fear! When we have the Princess and have had enough fun, we will leave through the front doors and...Well, we'll decide where to go when the time comes.

"Now, I ask you this: Are you ready to taste the blood we have craved these thousands of years? Are you ready to spread ultimate chaos and fear to our path of victory?" His cronies roared in approval. "Too long have we waited to take revenge on those who defeated us long ago. Too long have we waited to take permanent domination over this land.

"So there will be no mistakes this time! We have built our strength while wallowing in the darkness as the weak humans trampled over us. But not anymore! Let all the worthless humans hear that Ganondorf and true evil have returned! And we shall conquer all who defy us!" The roaring of the excited moblins became deafening, disturbing the calm morning.

"The full moon will weep with the flow of blood and these peaceful times will forever be shattered. Spread the dark, despairing shadow! Now, rise, and beginning marching towards Hyrule Castle, towards revenge and ultimate victory!"

The moblins heartily rose, their spirits soaring around the room and tears of happiness running down their faces. Hope gleamed in their yellow eyes and their hearts swelled with joy. Talking loudly amongst themselves, they got into rows of four and columns of four, trooping off through the trees towards Hyrule. Ganondorf was about to leave the cave and follow them on his horse when two humans entered the cave, apparently thinking everyone had left. They saw Ganondorf and quickly bolted away.

Ganondorf rolled his eyes and teleported in front of them outside the cave. They gave a great yell and began veering to the left. "Stop," Ganondorf commanded, holding out his hand. They stopped immediately, struggling against the large, invisible hand that held them back. With a flick of his wrist, he had them facing him. They stared at him wide eyed and open mouthed.

"Now, you're scouts for King Harkinan, I presume?" They nodded, shaking like aspen leaves. "What do you think, Lugwart? Should we send the King a friendly greeting?" he asked, addressing the moblin next to him, who stayed behind to wait for Ganondorf. Lugwart nodded, cackling and leering at the two frightened humans.

"I want you two to deliver a little message for dear friend King Harkinan," Ganondorf said softly, leaning in towards them and smiling evilly. "Tell him that Ganondorf would like to pay him a memorable little visit sometime. He's dying to know what the King's been up to these days." He laughed. "Now get out of here, and be quick about it, or I'll send the devil after you!" He released his magical hold on them, and they took off as fast as they could, crashing noisily through the underbrush.

"Tell me," Ganondorf said softly to Lugwart, his eyes sparkling, "how many men does it take to deliver a message?"

"One," Lugwart said gleefully, taking out his axe and hurling it into the forest. A shrill scream pierced the morning, causing several harassed crows to take off to the sky.

* * *

Link advanced, preparing to unleash a series of quick sword jabs. Krishna had already gotten up. His face, bloody and livid, and his dark, hollowed eyes made up for a horrifying sight. "I will show you no mercy now," he said, his voice shaking. "You will wish you would have given up earlier!" 

Link stopped in his tracks as Krishna held out his hand, his palm facing Link. His whole body began to tremble as some unseen energy seemed to travel through his body. His coat flapped rapidly around him, even though the wind wasn't blowing. His whole hand lit up with an awesome blue light, his eyes glowing the same color. Link stumbled back, holding his shield up.

Krishna yelled something in a harsh language, and a fiery blue ball shot towards Link. Link braced himself behind the shield, but the ball went through the shield and hit him square in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. Link gasped and fell backwards. He tried to get up but the thing held him down like a huge boulder.

Krishna once again loomed over him, his eyes, which will still blue, boring into his. He knelt down at Link's level and pulled Link up by the front of his shirt so that their faces were inches apart. "Have I proved my point yet? I am far stronger than the likes of you. I posses powers that humankind wouldn't think possible to have!"

"Who are you?" Link gasped out.

Krishna's eyes glowed brighter as a crazed, power-hungry look consumed his face. "Why, I am Krishna Taesama, prince of Pajan. Also known as –" He leaned in to Link's ear, "Ganondorf's Second Man!"

Link's mouth opened in surprise. He suspected Krishna to be corrupt, but not by the most fearsome demon in the history of Hyrule! "Do you think the King will take this news lightly when I tell him?" Link yelled, trying to wrench himself out of Krishna's strong grasp.

"You continue to amaze me with your endless stupidity! Do you really think I was going to let you live after I told you my little secret? I'm going to have to kill you."

"Oh yeah? And what will the King say about that? He'll hang you!" Link said fiercely, trying to sound more confident than he felt.

"But no one knows we're out here, do they?" Link was about to open his mouth, but Krishna interrupted him. "And if you really thought I would let anyone from the castle see us, you're wrong. I put an enchantment on the windows. "

"Y-you just wanted to have this duel so you could kill me!" Link said, finally realizing his true intent. "You bastard!"

Krishna smiled at him. "Of course I did, idiot. A strong fighter like you interferes with Lord Ganondorf's plans. And with that being said, I have nothing else to say to you." He held out his hand and placed it over Link's chest, right above his heart.

Link yelled and withered around on the ground, but the invisible weight continued to bear him down. _This is it,_ he thought. _It's all over with._ But a sudden scream disturbed their intense fight like a pebble being thrown into a calm lake. Krishna froze and turned around. As soon as he had turned around and broken his eye contact with Link, his spell lifted. Link quickly scrambled to his feet.

His attention, as well as Krishna's, was distracted by a figure running towards them. He was carrying something in his arms causing him to run slow and awkwardly. "Help me!" he screamed. He stumbled and fell, the thing he was carrying falling heavily on top of him. Link and Krishna ran over to him. As Link ran closer, he saw that the thing the man had been carrying was a human with dark blood running down his back from the axe that protruded out of him.

Krishna shoved the dead body off the man, who was pale and trembling. He burst into tears. "Speak," Krishna said. "What has happened?" But the man looked at Krishna as if he was a ghost. He tried to speak but couldn't find his voice. He sat up and began wringing his hands together.

"I said speak," Krishna said.

"M-must…see the K-king," the man gasped out. "M-message from…Ganondorf! Oh, great d-demons and devils below!" he wailed, slumping over unconscious.

* * *

A/N: And there you have it! I know, the ending was kinda dumb, but I was sick of writing and I didn't know how else to finish it! So, how was it? Sorry if there are any mistakes; I edited this really fast! As I said before, it took longer to write than I thought b/c I had difficulty writing the fight scene and Ganondorf's speech. Were those ok? The fight turned out how I wanted to, but Ganondorf's speech didn't have quite the effect I was hoping for. Bah, whatever. Oh, and you know the part when Ganondorf said "how many men does it take to deliver a message" and Lugwart killed the other guy? Well I kinda stole it from Mulan...Man, I'm so terrible! I gotta stop doing that or I'll be murdered in my sleep by angry movie producer people! 

Oh, one more thing: Does saying "Ganondorf's second man" make sense? I was trying to think of a title or something to describe Krishna's place in Ganondorf's, uh...hierarchy? He's the second most powerful person, Ganondorf being the first. He's like a personal assistant to Ganondorf, like his right-hand man or something. Do you know what I'm trying to say? I really don't. I don't know, if you guys can think of something that sounds better, please let me know!

All right, I'm going to risk thanking you guys personally this time b/c you guys are too awesome to ignore!

**Zestycrouton:** Yay! I'm glad I made your dream come true, lol! And I'm glad you thought it was a perfect length :)  
**Hermione Granger 1598:** Thank you so much! I'm happy that you really liked it!  
**Lachlan:** I feel honored that I made someone speechless with my writing. I hope your brain didn't melt! Thanks for reviewing :)  
**Link FanGirl01:** Ooh that makes me happy! Thanks a lot for your review!  
**Janus Kamaren: **Yep, you're right, I was trying to make the King seem dim-witted, so I'm glad you caught that. I must say I enjoy reading your comments; they make me feel like you're taking my story seriously and that you're enjoying it! Oh, I checked out that website, and I like it better than this one, but too bad it's less popular. Oh well... Thanks for reviewing!  
**Lisilgirl: **I know, isn't he creepy? But now you know who he really is! Thanks a lot for the review!  
**NyAnZa: **Yep, I did know that Krishna's a Hindu God. But I didn't know that his skin has a blue tinge! I actually Google Imaged him afterwards to see what he looked like:) Thanks for reviewing!  
**REM7:** Ooh, I'm glad you're intrigued by it. I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks!  
**Korokirigirl:** Thanks for the nice review! Hope you liked this chapter!  
**Greki: **Yep, your suspicions are right! And no, I'm not following the Ocarina of Time. I just used the name "Hero of Time" from it, but there's no direct connection. Thanks for checking, though! And thanks a lot for reviewing!

Well, that's it. Please review! Seriously, even if it's just one word, I'll still go ecstatic over it! Until next time, have a good one.


	6. Fight and Flight

**A/N:** Sorry it's been awhile! To make up for that, I made this chapter a lot longer. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda... WHAT? Seriously?

**Chapter 6: Fight and Flight**

"So Ganondorf is alive once again," Link murmured, staring gravely at the unconscious man.

Krishna looked over at Link, his eyes glittering. "Again? He has always been alive. The Hero of Time never killed him."

Link gaped at him. "What?"

Krishna sighed impatiently. "You heard me. He's been alive all of these centuries. The reason why he's been in hiding for so long was because of the heavy damage the Hero of Time inflicted upon him; he was near death's door, but not fully dead. He's been building his strength to near invincibility and his army to hundreds-of-thousands."

Link paused for a moment, trying to process this surprising news. "So everything is going according to plan?" he asked bitterly.

Krishna hesitated, and then replied, "I had no knowledge of my Lord wishing to deliver a message. However, I have full faith in his actions. He has never made an unwise decision." He then bent over and carelessly slung the unconscious man over his shoulder, and with his other hand he performed a small spell to stop his nose from bleeding.

"Oh, and one more thing. This duel is not over yet. In the end, we will inevitably cross swords, and I will kill you," Krishna said calmly, walking back to the Castle.

Link stared after him, feeling both speechless and angry. "Moron," he muttered. He gingerly (and reluctantly) picked up the dead body, blanching and holding it as far away from himself as possible. He then began walking towards the Castle, the thoughts of all that had happened that morning swirling around in his mind. _Ganondorf must be planning something big. If Krishna didn't know about the message, would he know about his other plans? _He was so preoccupied that he failed to notice the absence of the guards.

Krishna knocked loudly on the doors (Krishna had sent away the gatekeeper as well). "Open up!" he called. "It's Prince Krishna."

There were a few moments of silence, and then the doors were opened by a strong, burly looking man. "Hello, Prince – " He yelped and stumbled backwards, staring in horror at the dead body. The few people standing around the entrance room turned and stared at them, their mouths opening in shock, their previous activities suddenly forgotten. An awkward and almost unbearable silence filled the room, as nobody seemed to want to speak. Link realized it was a mistake to hold the dead man with his bloody back facing out and quickly proceeded to turn him around.

The heavy silence was relieved when a small figure zoomed down the stairs to greet them. "Link! I couldn't see you –" Mara stopped talking, her eyes widening. She dropped her cleaning rag.

"You, servant," Krishna said, looking down at her. "Bring us to King Harkinan's throne room at once." Mara nodded and turned on her heel, leading Link and Krishna out of the room. As soon as the door had shut, an intense chatter broke out, the people talking apprehensively and curiously over what they had just witnessed.

But Link, Krishna, and Mara trooped silently through the many hallways and rooms of the castle, all of it looking unbearably the same after a short while. Mara finally stopped and knocked on the door in front of her with a golden knocker. A small rectangle of wood towards the top of the door opened up to reveal Francis's green eyes, peering out anxiously. But upon seeing no one, the slit shut and another one opened closer to the bottom of the door.

"State your name and purpose," announced Francis's shaky voice from within.

"My name is Mara and I'm a servant of the Castle. Umm…Link and Prince Krishna are with me and they need to…" she paused and looked back at them.

Krishna raised his voice and finished her sentence, saying coolly, "We need to deliver a message from Ganondorf." Francis uttered a faint "oh, my" and the slit of wood shut at once.

Mara looked at Link in alarm. "Link, is that true?" But before he could reply, the door burst open and Francis quickly ushered them in, giving a small yelp at the sight of the two bodies Link and Krishna were holding. He slammed the door in Mara's perplexed face and led them over to King Harkinan, who looked tense and pale, his eyes widening as they laid the bodies down on the floor. Impa stood next to the King, looking grim. The unconscious man groaned but remained still.

"I have nothing to say but to ask you two to explain yourselves," Harkinan said shakily. Link opened his mouth to reply, intent on telling the King everything about their duel, but Krishna spoke first. "Link and I were taking a morning walk outside, just to get to know each other. I thought it was a good idea to be on friendly terms with my soon to be fiancée's protector, wouldn't you agree? So, anyway…"

Link scowled but remained silent, resisting the temptation to blurt out the truth; would the King honestly believe him, a mere peasant he barely knew, over a well-trusted family friend?

"…And the bandits jumped out of nowhere and attacked us," Krishna continued, "but they ran away before we could fight back and arrest them. That's when this man came running down the road with the dead man in his arms. And before he became unconscious, he said he had a message from Ganondorf and that he desired to speak with you at once. We then proceeded back to the Castle to see you immediately."

"Right," Harkinan said, wiping his brow with a silk handkerchief. "The obvious thing to do next would be to wake up this man. Francis, if you wouldn't mind fetching a pail of cold water…" Francis obliged and a few minutes later, he returned with the said object. Krishna crouched down and propped the man up in a sitting position, holding him upright while Francis doused him in the face with the ice cold water. The man's eyes snapped open and he sputtered. He looked around wildly.

Upon seeing his comrade's dead body, he gave a sharp intake of breath and his eyes filled with tears. "Léon is dead!" he cried out. "He's dead! Gone! Killed by G-Ganondorf!" He finally became aware that the King was standing in front of him and cried out, "We're all going to die, just like Léon did! We're – "

"Rasul," Harkinan said gravely, but not unkindly. "Do not worry, Léon will be taken care of and given a proper, honored burial. Please excuse me for my lack of sympathy and kind words, but it is important that we know the message. Are you able to tell us what it is?"

"Yes, yes of course," Rasul said, his face still painted with horror and his cheeks glistening with tears, but he had managed to calm down. "It's quite short, but he said he would like to visit you sometime."

There was a silence. "That's it?" Harkinan said, looking slightly perplexed.

"Yes, your Highness. But the…the way he said it made it seem like he meant soon. H-he was marching his large army towards Hyrule when Léon and I fled. The other two scouts are still by Ganondorf's hideout."

"Can you describe Ganondorf to us?" Impa asked.

Rasul shuddered. "Yes. He was quite terrifying and intimidating. He looked powerful, and he used magic on us so we wouldn't run away. He was exactly how the history books described him. B-but I think he might be more powerful now than he was before." He sighed and bowed his head.

Harkinan nodded his head. "Thank you, Rasul. Francis, please escort Rasul to the Infirmary to be looked over. Then kindly notify Mort to prepare Léon for a proper burial. I will personally inform his family about this terrible misfortune." Francis nodded and led Rasul out of the room.

The King turned around, where a guard was standing in the back of the room. "Edward, would you mind bringing Léon to the Morgue?" Edward nodded and carried him out of the room.

A thought formed in Link's mind. "Sir, you don't think Rasul was possessed by Ganondorf, do you?"

Impa answered, shaking her head firmly. "No, he had the eyes of a sane man. The nurse will know better than I and will thus confirm his complete health."

"I agree," Harkinan said. His face grew more serious. "And now we must discuss what to do next. Although Ganondorf's message was short and unspecific, it mustn't be taken lightly. We have to take extra precautions and not let our guard down.

"The way I interpreted the message was that Ganondorf is planning an attack on the Castle. That would make the most obvious sense. So, the next course of action would be to divide the knights around Hyrule for protection, the majority of them being at the Castle, Ganondorf's supposed main target. We must also add extra security around here, and all of the Castle's inhabitants and guests must know of all of the possible ways out of here, in case of the need to evacuate. Impa, if you wouldn't mind helping me out with that this morning…"

"Of course, your Highness," Impa said. "And the citizens of Hyrule are aware of Ganondorf's return?"

"Yes. We sent out flyers yesterday. The knights that we'll station around Hyrule will also be able to spread the word.

"Link," he said, turning to him. "Whatever happens, I need you to protect Zelda. Do not let Ganondorf get to her. If necessary, I want you and her to flee the Castle. I don't care where you go as long as you're out of harm's way. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir."

At that moment the door opened and Francis poked his head into the room. "Pardon the interruption; Lord Rujita Taesama and the Mrs. have just arrived at the front bridge, Sire."

"Ah, good! Krishna, if you wouldn't mind, please greet your parents and bring them to the South drawing room. Explain the situation to them and have a servant bring them some refreshments. I'll join you three in about a half-hour. Give them my warm salutation and apology."

"Yes, your Highness. And is the celebration still on for tonight?"

Harkinan nodded. "To keep people's spirits up, I think the best way to act is normally, as if nothing was happening. The guests are already here and there's no point in cancelling something we've already put so much work into."

The King turned to Link. "Link, you may be excused. Zelda will be with the Taesama's and myself today, so you can do whatever you would like. But, please, don't abandon your duties tonight at the celebration."

With a final smile, Harkinan and Krishna took off, Francis and Impa treading behind them. Link followed them, but stopped as soon as he had stepped outside, as he had heard someone whisper his name. Link looked around and saw Mara peering at him from behind around the corner, looking anxious. Link made his way over to her. Mara motioned at him to follow her and they walked towards the kitchens.

"Krishna works for Ganondorf," Link said, as soon as they were out of earshot of anyone.

"No way!" Mara exploded. "That dirty, lying, sneaky devil! Let's go beat the crap out of him and –"

Link cut in, saying, "Shh, keep you voice down. He already tried to kill me. Actually, if it wasn't for Rasul, I would have already been at my grave!"

Mara snorted, but looked a little startled. "No, way, you're joking! You're stronger than anyone I know, and you have the blood of the Hero of Time running through you!"

Link shook his head grimly. "I'm serious, Mara; he's skilled in dark magic that undoubtedly came from Ganondorf." He then went into a full account of his fight with Krishna, in which Mara gasped, cheered, and yelled a boasting amount of curse words.

This conversation took them down to the kitchens, where they sat down on a pile of flour sacks, continuing to talk. "And you won't believe this, either. Krishna told me that the Hero of Time never killed Ganondorf; his wounds were really critical, though, which is why he's been in hiding for so long."

"Ok, now I don't believe you. The history books said he died!"

"I didn't believe him either, at first. But even though Krishna's now our enemy, his eyes looked truthful and serious; he may be evil, but he's not a lunatic to say something like that. Besides, Ganondorf is a demon; most people should know that it doesn't take one fight to kill off a demon."

Mara was silent for a moment, and then sighed. "Well, if you believe Krishna, I will too."

"Thanks, Mara. But no matter what the truth is, Ganondorf is healthy and full of power now. I shouldn't even be asking this, but did you listen in through the door?"

Mara laughed. "Yes. Do you think Ganondorf will attack the Castle?"

"Without a doubt. And, I think it'll be tonight. What worries me the most is Krishna's connection with Ganondorf. This will probably affect Ganondorf's attack on the Castle."

"Why don't you tell the King?"

"I don't think he would believe me. Krishna and Harkinan are too close and their families have been friends for a long time. And, as I figured out today, Krishna's pretty powerful. If I told the King, it might put his life or Zelda's life in danger."

"But if Ganondorf attacks the Castle all of our lives will be in danger!"

"I know, but it would be bad if the King was already dead before Ganondorf gets here; the people of Hyrule would panic and it would create more chaos than necessary. We don't even know why he wants to attack the Castle, so we can't assume anything; he may not even be after the King's life. Hey…What if I told Impa? I'm sure she would believe me!"

Mara's face lit up. "That's a great idea! Let's do it right now!"

Link shook his head. "She's really busy right now, remember? I'll ask her tonight at the celebration. Did you know Krishna and Zelda are to wed?"

Mara nodded. "Yes. The whole Castle knows, except for Zelda. Poor Zelda, she's marrying the devil!"

"Well, she's a devil herself, so you could say they're a match made in heaven…or hell," Link grumbled.

Mara giggled. "Zelda's not that bad! She's kind to us and gives us some extra pocket money once and a while! She said she would take us on a trip to the Market sometime since we've been cooped up in here for so long."

Link snorted. "I fail to see any kindness in her."

"Well, she is sensitive because of…Well, never mind."

"What? Tell me!"

"Sorry, Link. We promised Zelda we would never tell anyone or talk about it. Anyway, aren't you supposed to be with Zelda?" she asked, hastily changing the subject.

"Fortunately, I've been spared. She's with Krishna, his family, and Harkinan. So, what do you want to do today? Wait a minute, don't you have to work?"

Mara shrugged. "Yeah, but I can't get fired, so I'll just get yelled at. I don't care. Do you want some breakfast? You're probably hungry after fighting."

"Yeah, that would be great." The rest of the day passed by quite slowly, but Link and Mara found plenty of things to do; they spent most of the day exploring the Castle together, discovering secret passages and hidden rooms. They played pranks on the haughty nobles, ate lunch in a tree in one of the Castle's many courtyards, visited Epona in the stable, and Link spent the rest of the day teaching Mara how to use a bow and arrow.

The rest of the Castle's inhabitants were extremely busy, preparing for the evening celebration. The cooks were laboring away the entire day, preparing the enormous feast. Party planners were decorating the entrance room and the dining hall, and servants were cleaning it from top to bottom. Harkinan, Zelda, and the Taesamas spent most of the day at the Market, buying a dress for Zelda. As evening approached, the atmosphere of the Castle was jubilant and excited, despite the fact that everyone was well aware of Ganondorf's return. Link's heart felt light and he couldn't possibly imagine any evil disturbing it.

But a large, darkened stone would soon be thrown into the tranquil lake; a threatening mass was slowly drawing nearer to the Castle, and drew nearer as the sun began to sink lower in the sky. An odd, cold breeze that mocked the warm summer air drifted in through a Castle window, snuffing out all candles in its path. A confused maid slammed the window shut, an involuntary shudder going down her spine.

* * *

"May I have everyone's attention, please!" Harkinan said merrily, standing up from his chair and clanging his spoon against his empty wine glass. "Attention, please! Quiet down! 

"Thank you for coming, one and all. I would like to announce my honorary guests, Lord Rujita Taesama and Mrs. Rujita Taesama, and their son, Krishna Taesama. They hail from the country Pajan and are dear friends of the Harkinan family!" Respectful clapping followed this statement. "They have come here for a special occasion, but what it is, we can't say yet! Until then, relax, talk amongst yourselves, make merriment, and enjoy the feast!"

And with that, several waiters and waitresses swept into the room, bearing down plates on the table filled with every kind of food imaginable. The scent of good food filled the room as the people's jolly voices mingled with it. The King was sitting at the high end of the table, the Taesama's to the left and right of him. Krishna sat next to his mother and Zelda next to him. Link sat next to Lord Taesama, with Impa on his left. Link felt extremely out of place, wishing he had something besides his old tunic to wear. He spent most of his time talking to Impa, someone he found he could talk to easily.

"Impa, there's something I need to talk to you about. It's really important," Link said in a low voice. But before he could continue, he felt a tap on his right shoulder. He turned around; Lord Taesama was holding out his hand. Link shook it and they exchanged hellos.

"So, you're the Princess's bodyguard, eh?" Lord Taesama said, beaming at him.

"Um, yes."

"Good for you. What a hard job it must be! You have a lot of pressure put on you, to have to protect two lives!"

"Yes, it is," Link said.

The rest of the feast was quite a bore for Link. The Taesama's asked him boring adult questions, such as where he lived, what he did before he came to the Castle, how much money he made at his old job (which was a question only a rich person would ask you), and what hobbies he had. Link answered them all politely, but soon grew tired of it; he was almost thankful when they stopped talking to him and discussed politics and business matters with Harkinan.

Krishna and Zelda talked mostly to each other, Zelda flirting with Krishna as much as she could. Link had to admit she looked quite pretty in her pale pink dress, which had soft white lace following the low shoulder line and neckline. Her hair was up in a bun and a few loose strands hanging down. She wore turquoise earrings and a turquoise necklace. Link reminded himself that she was also his enemy, and looked away.

As the feast continued onwards, the last of the food was eaten and the wine was slowly drained from the goblets. The atmosphere was cheerful, boisterous, and happily drunk. Link hiccupped as he reached out for his wine glass for the umpteenth time, wishing to drain it so he could get another refill. Never before had Link tasted wine, and he found it absolutely wonderful. "I think four glasses of wine is enough," Impa said firmly, grabbing his arm and pulling it away.

Link looked at her with a crazed look on his face. "'Enough'? This party's just getting STARTED!"

"Hear, hear!" Lord Taesama roared, his face beet red.

"Let's make a toast!" Link cried out, picking up his wine glass. "Would you, Lord Taesama, help me make this most important toast?"

Taesama, nodded, wiping a stray tear from his eye. "I would be most honored!" They stood up and Link clanged his spoon loudly on his glass, so hard that it shattered. But everyone's attention was already on the bizarre, drunk couple. Zelda sunk low in her chair, shaking her head and muttering something along the lines of "disgusting".

"Wine," Link and Taesama said together.

"Even the word is pure perfection," Link said.

"It is the loveliest doveliest essence of all time! The drink of the Gods!"

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Link said. "Why, wine is the best invention since the chamber pot!"

"And thank the Goddesses for the chamber-pot; no more peeing in the God-blasted woods!" The crowd laughed.

"But we're not making this toast to chamber-pots, my friends; we are making it to man's best friend, wine. Now, I beseech you, good people; raise your glasses of wine to wine!"

The guests clapped and roared with laughter, drinking their wine to…wine. Link and Taesama sat down, Link swaying and falling out of his seat. As everyone continued to laugh at the crazy drunks, Zelda looked beyond pissed, Harkinan and Impa looked amused, Mrs. Taesama looked very embarrassed, and Krishna looked bored.

"More wine!" Link and Lord Taesama said at the same time, raising their empty glasses, Link raising his from the floor. A few other drunken people rose their glasses in agreement.

"No, I think you've had enough, Link," Impa said firmly, although a smile was on her face.

"I agree," Harkinan said. "We don't want my daughter's bodyguard to be a mad drunk, now do we?"

"Too late," Zelda hissed through gritted teeth.

Link got back up in his chair and looked at Harkinan blearily, his eyes blood-shot. "Ah, come on, you party pooper! Where's your sense of fun, you crotchety old man?"

"Er, I beg your pardon?" Harkinan said, looking slightly ruffled.

"Come on, Link, there's more wine for you in the kitchen," a voice said at Link's elbow. It was Mara.

Link's head snapped downward. "Did you say….wine? Bring it to me at once!" Link said, jumping out of his seat and staggering forward.

Mara caught his elbow and whispered in a low voice to Harkinan, "Don't worry, your Majesty, I'll try and get him sober."

"Thank you, dear," Harkinan said, looking relived.

"Come on," Mara said, tugging on Link's arm, leading him to the kitchens.

"Where are we going?" Link said, looking dazed.

"The Moon," Mara said, giggling.

"Do they have booze on the Moon?" Link asked, stopping and looking at Mara, his face completely serious.

"Yes, Link, they invented it on the Moon," Mara said, bursting out laughing. As soon as they had made it to the kitchens, Mara let go of Link's arm and began filling a bucket with water.

"When are we going to the Moon?" Link whined. "Hurry up!"

Mara ignored him, but a smile was still on her face. After the bucket was full, she picked it up and threw the water directly in Link's face. He sputtered and stumbled backwards. "What was that for?"

Mara walked up to him and slapped him hard on the cheek. "Sorry, Link, but I'm trying to clear your head out! You're really drunk right now!"

Link's eyes went out of focus. "…Drunk?" His face turned green and he grabbed the bucket, his upchucked dinner hitting the bottom of it.

Mara blanched and plugged her nose. "How much wine did you have! Well, you're staying here until you're more sober, no matter how long it takes."

* * *

About a half-hour later, Mara and a more-sober Link were walking to the entrance room of the Castle. Link's head was clearer, but he still felt groggy and unstable. "I can't believe I did that," he muttered, his face bright red. Mara, with much enthusiasm, had told Link what he had done at the dinner. "I'm never, ever drinking any alcohol again. I'm such an idiot…" 

"But it was really entertaining," Mara said, grinning. "Don't worry; people always do stupid things when they're drunk….Did you tell Impa about our suspicions?"

Link shook his head. "No, I forgot. Besides, Krishna was staring right at me as I was talking to her. I couldn't tell her right there!"

"We should find her in here and talk to her." Link agreed.

They made it to the entrance room, which was turned into an elegant ballroom. The fancy decorations, the sparkling chandelier hanging above, and the beautiful stained glass window added to the excitement of the room and the party. A live band in the corner was playing a fast song in which people were gracefully sweeping their dance partners across the floor to, the delicate fabric of the women's dresses gliding and twirling around like colorful dancing flowers.

Mara and Link sat down in two chairs in the corner of the room. Link closed his eyes and leaned back; his stomach churned horribly when he watched the dancers. Mara looked around for Impa, spotting her after a while, and went and fetched her.

The two came back to Link, sitting down on either side of him. "Are you feeling better, Link?" Impa asked, smiling.

Link opened his eyes, turning even redder. "A little. Look, I'm really sorry for the way I acted – "

Impa laughed. "It's all right, Link. They say wine makes a man become evil, or in your case, crazy. I blame your behavior solely on the wine. Anyway, you wanted to talk to me about something?"

Link nodded, thankful to change the subject. "Yes. It's about Krishna…" And he told her everything about Krishna he knew: his first suspicions, every detail of the fight, and Krishna finally telling him he worked for Ganondorf.

Impa remained silent for a few moments, her face looking graver than ever. "I can't believe it," she said after a while. "He's been under my nose this whole time and I haven't suspected a thing! I guess even the freshest apple can still become rotten to the core." She sighed. "This certainly complicates matters."

"What are we going to do?" Link said, relived that Impa believed him. "Tell the King?"

Impa shook her head. "No. According to your descriptions, Krishna is very dangerous, so we have to play it safe. If we call in the Knights to watch him or to arrest him, he might just kill us all." She thought for a moment or two. "I think the best thing to do would attack him when he's most vulnerable, while he's sleeping. Thank you, Link, for telling me this. You've really helped us out."

She stood up. "I better go keep an eye on Krishna. You watch him, too, just in case."

"Anything else we should do?" Link asked.

"No. Now all we can do is wait." She thanked him again and walked away.

After a while, the music stopped playing. King Harkinan was standing at the top of the stairs, an enormous smile on his face. Lord Taesama and Mrs. Taesama stood to the left and right of the King, respectively. Impa stood in the background, her eyes on Krishna. The room grew quiet and everyone turned to face the stairs.

"I would like to ask Zelda and Prince Krishna to come up here, please." The said couple made their way up the stairs and faced the King. "Once again, I would like to thank you all for coming here, especially our honorary guests, the Taesama family." The crowd clapped respectfully. "I hope you have all enjoyed yourselves thus far! Would anyone else like to add anything?" he asked, looking around cheerfully.

"I do," Krishna said quietly. He turned to the side to face Zelda, and she turned to him too, looking curious. "Zelda, I really care about you. We've been friends for as long as I can remember, and more than friends these past few years. And, well…" He got down on one knee, taking Zelda's hand. "Princess Zelda, will you marry me?"

Zelda burst into tears. The room was completely silent except for Zelda's sobbing. "Of course I will!" she said, flinging herself on Krishna and kissing him on the lips. The crowd burst into happy applause and cheering. The Taesama's and the Harkinan's were all wearing big smiles (except Krishna) and were exchanging hugs and joyful words.

"No," Mara said, her eyes filling with tears. "We're doomed! Krishna will turn them in to Ganondorf!"

Link stayed silent for a moment, watching as Zelda and Krishna began to slow dance on the dance floor, the crowd forming a circle around them, their parents watching them proudly in the background. "This is it," he murmured. "She's sold herself to the devil."

"What's going to happen now?" Mara asked.

"I don't know," Link said, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword. "But I do know one thing: I vow that I will never let Krishna get his way, or Ganondorf. I'll do anything to stop evil from destroying Hyrule, even if that means killing them both."

Mara stared at him, her face a mixture of fear and admiration. "I'll be by your side, too. I may not be able to wield a sword, but I'll do anything I can to help you."

Link smiled at her. "Thank you, Mara. You don't know what that means to me. But I promised the King I would protect Zelda, even it means having to leave the Castle."

Before Mara could reply, there was a sudden crash of glass; the music stopped playing and people stopped dancing, gasping out and screaming. Mara and Link turned their heads toward the stair to see Ganondorf jumping through the stained glass window, the image of the Hero of Time shattering to millions of shards of glass that rained down on the people below.

The King, the Taesamas, and Impa ran down the stairs and into the terrified, shocked crowd. "Running away like a fool and a coward?" Ganondorf roared, a hideous, triumphant smile on his face. "Is that how you treat your guests, Harkinan? I told you I wanted a visit! Well, here I am! I hope you don't mind if I brought a few friends along with me!"

Several moblins began pouring out behind Ganondorf, where there appeared to be a tunnel. "What will the refreshments be tonight? How about…Human flesh!" The moblins roared with laughter and they advanced into the ground. Several people screamed and everyone began running toward any door that would get them away from the room. At the same time, Hylian Knights came pouring out from the doors to meet the moblins.

Link jumped up and unsheathed his sword. "Mara, find your family and get yourselves out of the Castle!" He then took off through the crowd, shoving through the panicked, hysterical people. He looked up at the stairs as the moblins and the Knights clashed together like a split sea. He looked around frantically. _Where are Krishna and Zelda?_

He then saw Krishna next to the banister at the bottom of the stair, leading Zelda away from the chaos. Link sped up and, dodging a swing from a moblin, caught up to them and swung the flat of his sword at Krishna's back. Krishna crumbled to the floor, Zelda screaming and falling with him. Krishna snarled and held up his hand at Link's face, but Link smashed his hand away with his shield and pointed the tip of his blade at Krishna's throat.

"Just give me the Princess," Link said, panting.

But Zelda jumped up and began beating Link with her fists. "What do you think you're doing to him?" she shrieked. "He's trying to save me!"

"No, I'm trying to save you," Link said, getting frustrated. With his sword still pointing at Krishna, he rammed his elbow into Zelda's stomach. She gasped out and collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.

Apparently Krishna could use magic with both of his hands, for he lashed out his uninjured hand and uttered a single word, which blew Link a few feet away, causing him to crash into a Knight. Link struggled upwards in time to see Krishna picking up Zelda and running away through the nearest door. "Oh, no you don't!" Link bellowed, running after them.

He took out his boomerang and let it fly, aiming it at Krishna's head. But Krishna ducked and ran through another door. Link, catching his boomerang, ran up to the door and turned the knob, but it was locked. Cursing, Link backed up and threw himself into the door as hard as he could. It swung open and Link painfully continued his chase. His head was spinning from all the wine he had drunk and he felt like retching.

He stopped as he entered a cozy sitting room, looking around. Krishna and Zelda were no where to be seen, but there were no doors that they could have escaped through. Link's heart was banging against his chest. _They have to be in here somewhere. _He then saw the drapes blowing from the window…from the open window. _Oh, no,_ he thought. _They went through the window! _

He went up to the window and poked his head out into the night sky. No more than a split second later did he feel extreme pain in his back. He screamed; it felt like his back was splitting open and his insides would just fall out. Blood poured out onto the wooden floor as Link backed out of the window and fell to his knees. A man bent down to his level, putting his cold, bloody sword on Link's neck and putting his other hand on Link's skull, forcing him down into his own puddle of blood.

Krishna laughed softly in his ear. "Yes, that's right. Bleed. Suffer. Your death is inevitable. You'll soon die, along with the rest of the foolish ingrates in this Castle. I told you we would meet again and I would kill you, although I didn't think it would be so soon. You really are pathetic."

Link struggled to get up, but the pain in his back was unbearable and Krishna had him pinned down. "Yes, struggle for your worthless life," Krishna whispered, "for it matters but little." He raised his sword up. Link thrashed around, trying to break free. _No! I can't die now!_

There was a crash from above and Krishna collapsed onto the floor next to him, his sword clattering on the floor and pieces of a broken pot showered around him. "Link!" Mara sobbed, kneeling down next to him, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him up. "Are you all right?"

Link shook his head, his back searing in pain. "No, but I'm not dead, thanks to you. Can you help me get up?" Mara nodded and helped him as Link painfully stood up. His back bled even more as he put pressure on it. He gasped out in pain as he got to his feet, putting a hand on the wall to support him.

He looked around the room and saw Zelda lying on the couch. He walked slowly over to her. "I have to get her out of here," Link muttered.

"I know a good way out of here," Mara said, her face white with fear. "Come on, I'll show you." Link nodded and bent over, picking up Zelda bridal style, clenching his teeth to prevent himself from screaming out in pain as more blood dribbled down his tunic. "Link, you'll bleed to death!" Mara cried out.

"You're right," he said, cursing his foggy mind for not thinking sensibly. He put Zelda back on the couch. "Just hurry and make a tight bandage." Mara nodded and, ripping off part of the bottom of her dress, she lifted Link's shirt up and made a tight bandage around his back, tying it in the front. "It won't last long, but it'll help you until you're out of here…"

"Thank you," Link said, bending over and picking up Zelda, this time slinging her over his left shoulder so that he could still use his sword. "Can you wipe my face off? I can't see…" Mara obliged and took out a handkerchief, wiping most of his blood off.

Looking back once more at Krishna to make sure he was unconscious, they took off down the hallway, the loud chaos echoing from the opposite room. A woman suddenly flew past them, shrieking as a moblin chased her. They disappeared through a doorway before Link could do anything to help. "Damn it," Link muttered angrily, stopping. "Soon everyone in the Castle will be massacred! But I can't stay because I promised to protect Zelda!"

"Link, come on, there's no time to berate yourself!" Mara said desperately, tugging at Link's sleeve and looking behind her. "Please, we have to hurry before Ganondorf finds you!" Link nodded and they took off at a fast pace.

Another moblin came running down the hallway, crackling gleefully and swinging his sword right at Mara. Link shoved a terrified Mara into the wall and sliced at the moblin's arm as he flew past them. The moblin screeched as blood spurted out from his stump, his detached arm and sword falling to the floor with a soft thud and a clatter. Mara shrieked, her eyes wide and terrified. "Don't look," Link said firmly, shielding Mara's eyes as they walked quickly past the screeching moblin.

They continued walking, Mara crying silently, Link gritting his teeth in pain. They only ran into a few more moblins; the major action was still only in the entrance room of the Castle, and Link and Mara were heading away from it. Mara finally stopped in a dark, musty cellar room, water dripping from the cracked ceiling. It was so cold in there that their ragged breath appeared when they exhaled. Mara grabbed a torch from the wall and held it close to the floor, moving about and looking for something.

She stopped. "There," she said, gesturing with the torch to a small circle in the floor. "There's a tunnel down there that eventually connects with the central sewer system," she whispered. "It'll bring you to town, where you can escape from there."

Link suddenly slapped his forehead. "Epona."

Mara stared at him. "Link, my name is Mara."

"No, my horse, Epona! I completely forgot about her! I'm going to need her if I'm going to make a quick escape."

"But the stables are outside in the back of the Castle. And the sewers don't run that way! Oh, Link, now what are we going to do?" She began sobbing again.

Link didn't know what to say. _What am I going to do?_ _If I stay here any longer, we'll be overrun by the moblins! Come on, Link, think!__There's got to be something I can do! _But he couldn't think of anything; it now seemed utterly hopeless. In the dreadful silence they could hear screaming, shouts, and the sounds of shattering glass coming nearer. Link's heart began to beat faster.

Just then the doorknob on the door turned. But Link had locked the door. The doorknob then shuddered violently and forceful. "Mara, get behind me," Link commanded. He drew his sword and waited.

The shuddering doorknob stopped, and a female voice yelled, "Open the door!" Link and Mara remained silent. He could almost hear their heartbeats, banging like loud drums; Link thought for sure that the entire Castle could hear it. They then heard something solid slam against the door and someone cursing. There was a slight pause, and then the thing slammed against the door again, and the door flew open, Impa stumbling into the room.

Link immediately lowered his weapon and relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief. "Impa, I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you!"

Impa was breathing heavily, as though she had been running all over the Castle; she had a cut grazing her upper right arm, and part of her clothes were bleeding and torn, but other than that, she looked all right. "It's all right. I should have said who I was, but I didn't want anyone to hear me. The last thing we want is 100 moblins on our tails. Link, we've got to get you and the Princess out of here."

"I know, that's what we've been trying to do," Link said. "I was going to follow the sewers and escape, but then I realized that I forgot Epona."

"You have a smart friend, Link," Impa said. "The sewers will be your best chance at escaping. I will go fetch your horse and bring it to you. Travel along the sewers until you make it to the Market. Climb out of the sewers and look for me somewhere around there. Now, hurry; Ganondorf and the moblins are spreading themselves around the Castle. They saw Krishna's unconscious body, and now they're looking for Zelda."

Link felt a chill go down his spine. "Right. Thank you so much, Impa. You really helped me out."

"No problem," Impa said. "I must get going if I'm going to make it to the stables alive. Don't worry, I'll get there; my time in this world is not over yet." And with that, she turned around and ran quickly through the door, shutting it.

Link immediately bent over and removed the heavy sewer door. There was a narrow ladder that went down into pitch blackness; they couldn't make out a bottom. Link felt himself shudder. "All right, we'll climb down together. You can carry the torch for me." Mara nodded and Link began climbing down the ladder, Mara following him.

As soon as they were at the bottom of the ladder, a complete, eerie silence greeted them. It was as if the loud noises above were suddenly snuffed out like a candle. Link looked around; fortunately, the tunnels were tall enough for Link to walk comfortably through without having to bend over. Link looked around; there were tunnels all around them, each leading to somewhere unknown.

"Which way do I go?" Link voiced out loud.

"I don't think it'll matter. They should all lead to the Market place."

"I guess I'll try this one, then," Link said, gesturing to the one directly ahead of him. He took the torch from Mara and held it out in front of him, looking into the gloomy, dark tunnel. He turned around to face Mara, whose lower lip was trembling. Link tried to smile. "I guess this is goodbye. Thank you so much for everything since I've been here."

Mara began to cry again. "But I don't want you to go! Can't I come with you?"

Link shook his head. "No. It'll be far too dangerous if you're traveling with me. Ganondorf will be looking for Zelda for sure after the night is over with, and I don't want to have to worry about your safety if you're with me. Besides, your place is here; you can't abandon your family."

But Mara continued to look miserable, tears blinding her vision. Link laid Zelda on the floor and reached out to hug her, patting the back of her head gently. "Don't worry about me. I will return. You have my promise; we will see each other before the end."

Mara nodded, her face buried in his shoulder. "I understand," she said, her voice muffled. "And I know you'll come back. I just hate saying goodbyes."

"I do, too, but it's not our last goodbyes," Link said. He let go of Mara and pulled her away from him, looking at her seriously. "Now, as soon as I leave, I want you to get your family and get them out of here through the sewers. I don't know what Ganondorf's plans are, but I don't think the Castle is safe anymore."

"Yes," Mara said, sniffling. "I'll do that."

Link wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Now it's time to be brave. Don't fret about me; I'll be all right. But promise me you'll take care of yourself."

"I will."

"Now, can I see you smile before I leave? Please?" he asked, pulling his best sad, innocent face.

"Oh, all right. But I would only do it for you," Mara said, and managed a small smile.

Link laughed and smiled back. Despite the situation, it certainly felt good to smile. "That's the spirit." He stood up, slinging Zelda unceremoniously over his shoulder.

"Good luck, Link," Mara said, continuing to smile. "I know Hyrule can count on you!"

"Thank you, Mara. And good luck to you, too. I'll be looking very forward to the day we meet again. Now hurry up and get your family." Link held up the light so Mara could see up the ladder. They smiled to one another one last time before Mara slid the sewer door over the hole, its clang echoing in the gloomy tunnels. It was now totally silent and pitch black, save for Link's torch. His heart felt alone and his back was searing with pain once again; the bandage didn't seem to stop the blood very well. His smile disappearing, he turned away from the ladder and walked into the unknown darkness of the tunnel.

* * *

An uneventful half-hour passed by as Link and the still-unconscious Zelda walked through the sewer. It was hard, tiresome, and disgusting; Link was now trudging through knee-high water, which was hard with the weight on his shoulder and the pain in his back. It didn't help to hold onto the sewer walls, for they were covered with dark green slime. For a long time, the tunnel remained dark and Link's spirits remained desolate; the tunnel seemed to go on forever and Link didn't even know if he was going in the right direction. His torch was slowly going out and the last thing he wanted to have happen was be in a dark sewer alone with Zelda. 

He suddenly saw a shaft of light up ahead. It gave him a surge of energy and hope. He came to it and saw that there was a grate on the ceiling in which the moonlight was shining through. Anxiously, hopefully, he looked through it. His spirits rose; he saw a building that he recognized from the Market! This was definitely a sight for sore eyes. _I can't believe my luck!_

Dropping the now-useless torch into the water, he propped Zelda against the wall, rubbing his sore shoulder. After a minute's breather to collect his wavering energy and stamina, he put his hands up the sewer grate and pushed hard against it. It wouldn't budge. Link was afraid this would happen.

So he tried pulling it instead. To his extreme relief, the grate swung downwards into the sewer. Link hoisted himself up and looked around him; the Market was empty and quiet, which surprised Link; he could hear the commotion of the Castle from out here. But he didn't have time to ponder this.

He went back down into the sewer and put Zelda back on his aching shoulder, then hoisted himself one-handed out of the sewer. He looked around for Impa, his heart pounding fast. _Where is she? I have a bad feeling she didn't make it…_

He walked around the Market, and after a while, he spotted two figures at the entrance to the Market place. Link walked s uncertainly towards the figures, worrying it was a pair of moblins instead. But as he got closer, he sighed in relief; it was Impa all right, and standing next to her was Epona. Impa ran up to him and took Zelda from his shoulder. "Will you be all right?" she said with concern. "Your tunic is soaked in blood."

Link nodded, even though he wanted to do nothing more than collapse on the grass and sleep. "I still have some strength left, enough to put a few miles' distance between us and the Castle. And thank you for retrieving Epona," he said, stroking his horse. "So where exactly am I supposed to go with Zelda?"

"We just want you to keep her out of danger, and don't return until it's safe to."

"I just hate abandoning you and the entire Castle like this."

"I know. But you need to do this."

"Do we even know why Ganondorf is attacking the Castle?"

Impa shook her head. "This whole situation is still very unclear to us. We think he's on a path to world domination, so we're assuming he's attacking the Castle to control the heart of Hyrule, or in other words, take over the entire country. But King Harkinan doesn't want Zelda caught in the middle of this or get killed; he has already lost his beloved wife and he doesn't want to lose his only daughter."

They walked over to Epona. Impa helped Link get on her, and then she lifted up Zelda. He grabbed her and put her in front of him, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"One more thing, before you go," Impa said. "I have a gift for you from one of the Nuemah's." She drew a beautiful, shining sword out from beneath her cloak. It looked very old and plain, but it had a strong, magnificent aura about it. Link stared at it in awe.

"It's beautiful. But why does the Nuemah want me to have it?"

"Because," Impa said with a smile, "she said it belonged to one of your ancestors."

Link's eyes widened. "Is this…?"

"Yes, this is the sword that belonged to the Hero of Time. It was used to fight off Ganondorf once, so she knew it was time to take it out again and give it to someone else to fight evil with."

"But why me?"

Impa continued to smile, her eyes glistening. "They say once a great hero has passed away, his sword can only be wielded properly by someone of his own blood and someone, before he knew of the great sword's existence, vowed to slay evil. Link, because you're related to the Hero of Time and because you have the true heart of a warrior, this sword is rightfully yours.

Link, shaken by this, nodded and grasped the sword hilt, pulling it up to him. He felt it vibrate through his fingers and arms, feeling the strength of the aura travel through him. _This,_ Link thought, _is a truly magnificent weapon._ "Thank you," Link said. "And please thank the Nuemah if you see her."

He unsheathed his old sword and put in a traveling pack that was tied to Epona, and then slid the Hero of Time's sword into the sheath. "I hope everything will be all right for you," Link said, shaking Impa's hand.

"Thank you. Good luck to you, and be safe. Do not lose hope."

"I won't," Link said, smiling. "I will return and kill Ganondorf, and put an end to this evil forever. That I promise you." With that, he turned Epona around and took off at a thundering pace on the road ahead, his future, Zelda's future, and the future of all of Hyrule quite uncertain.

Impa watched him until he disappeared. "I know you will," she murmured. She then turned around and disappeared into the quiet, unsettling night.

**

* * *

A/N:** There you have it, people. What did you think of it? I put a lot of effort into writing this, so I hope it was worth it! Sorry if the beginning was boring, but it had to be included. My favorite part to write was when Link was escaping the Castle. And Link being drunk? Hehe, that was fun to write, too. He seemed out of character when he was drunk, but that was because of the wine, of course!

Do you guys think this story is a little "uneven"? I don't know if that's the right word, but I was looking back at previous chapters, and it just doesn't seem like this story is flowing very well. What do you think? You can tell me your honest opinion because I think I have a lot of work to do as a writer! (sigh) Maybe I'm just being too hard on myself.

I'm going to use the reply system from now on to personally thank you guys for reviewing. I just don't want to risk having my story being taken off of here! So if you're anonynmous and you want me to reply to your review, you can include your e-mail address and I'll e-mail you! Crap, look at the time. My family and I are leaving for vacation in exactly one hour. I gotta get my butt off the computer! Before I do, I just wanted to say thank you so much for those of you who reviewed last time! Since I don't have any time now, I will personally thank you when I get back from Colorado, which will be next weekend.

Until next time, have a good one. :)


	7. The Dream

A/N: Wow. Can you believe I'm finally back?! It has been more than a year. Pretty sad, but I promised I would never abandon this story! So here I am. A short recap for those who have forgotten (I confess I did): Basically, Link is hired by Harkinan to protect Zelda. Krishna, long-time family friend, is engaged to Zelda, but he's actually working for Gannondorf, who has returned! Gannondorf takes over Hyrule Castle with his cronies. Link, after much battling, takes himself and Zelda away from the Castle, out of harms way. Now they're on the run, into the unknown!

* * *

Chapter 7: The Dream

_Clop-clop. Clop-clop._ Zelda, in a dream, frowned and squinted her eyes. _What is that annoying noise? _As the noise persisted, she slowly arouse from her unconscious state, finally snapping her eyes open in irritation. The scene she was greeted with caused her to shriek out loud: A dark night sky, trees rushing past, a horse below her, and a pair of arms around her waist?

Frightened and confused, Zelda looked up and screamed again. It was Link, his face bloody and his head hanging loosely on his chest. His hands left Zelda's waist and, as if in slow motion, he slipped off the horse, falling in a crumbled heap on the ground.

"Horse! STOP!" Zelda yelled frantically, pulling on the reigns. But Epona had already begun slowing down the moment Link left her. On her own will, she turned around and trotted back to Link, whining softly and prodding Link's chest with her muzzle.

Clambering dizzily off of Epona, Zelda put her head in her hands and let out a gasp of air._What is going on?_ _Why am I not at the Castle? The last thing I remember is…_ Her eyes widened in anger. "Getting knocked unconscious by you!" she snarled at Link, but he lay still on the earth.

"You were trying to get me away from Krishna, who was trying to save me! You kidnapped me!"

Looking around wildly, she noticed the shiny hilt of a sword gleaming from Link's waist. She bared her teeth and dashed back to Link and Epona. "I'm going to KILL YOU!" She pushed Epona's head away and grabbed onto the hilt. No sooner had she closed her soft fingers around the metal was she met with a flashing vision in her mind's eye. A man in a green garment.

"Wha…?" Zelda let go of the hilt and stumbled backwards, as if a force had hit her. The man remained engraved in her mind. _What in goddesses just happened? _She stared at the hilt, her chest heaving. Epona had returned to Link, watching Zelda closely.

"Don't worry, horse, I'm not going to kill Link," she said, trying to sound like she actually meant it. Epona snorted and looked down at Link. Zelda slowly approached the hilt again, holding her hand out in front of her face as if she was walking towards a poisonous snake. She inched so close to it that she could see her disheveled reflection. Nothing happened. A chilly wind rushed through the dark forest.

She closed her eyes momentarily; a strange feeling was overtaking her body. She knew she had to look at that sword. Zelda took a deep breath and quickly poked the hilt and pulled away quickly. Again, nothing happened.

"Playing games with me?" she said aloud, glaring at the hilt. It remained as it was. Feeling braver, Zelda slowly put her hand around the hilt and pulled it out. A yellow diamond, almost like an eye, pierced into her own. Zelda let go out the sword in her own shock.

"How can _you_ have possession of the Master Sword?!" Zelda cried out. She recalled that only ancestors of the famous Hero of Time could properly wield that sword. "Don't tell me…You're related to the Hero of Time?" Link remained unresponsive, although his chest rose and fell slowly. Zelda shut her eyes again. _None of this is making sense. I need to get back to the Castle!_

She looked around her. It was 360 degrees of dense, dark forest. Thinking for a few moments, she stood up. _Alright, here is what I am going to do, _she thought._ I have no idea where I am, so I need Link, who probably knows this forest like the back of his hand, to return me to the Castle. For now, I'll keep him alive. When he awakens, I'll force him at weapon-point to bring me home._ She didn't know how the latter would turn out, but at least she had a plan for now.

She looked over at Link and realized that what she thought was the night's shadows were actually blood stains. She looked down at her own clothes in blanched. _I'm covered in this filthy blood too! But if I don't act now, he'll bleed to death, and I'll be living in these woods for the rest of my life…_

She then turned Link around and, lifting his shirt, saw a deep gash in his mid back. Some blue cloth had been tied around it, but it was already soaked in blood. "Did Krishna do this to you?" she said softly. "How terrible I feel." She smirked. _Alright, enough joking around._

She studied the wound for a few seconds. _At its current state, his wound needs to be washed, or it'll never stop bleeding. _She looked around. "Now if I can find some water…" Spotting Epona's haversack, she stood up and placed her hand gently on Epona. "If you want me to save your friend, I'll have to look in the pack," she said solemnly. Epona stared her in the eye and looked away. Taking that as a "yes," Zelda opened the pack. It was crammed with various items, from arrows to pieces of parchment to a pocket knife and even a beautiful ring. Zelda dug through this and found two canisters at the bottom. She shook them, hearing liquid sloshing against the walls.

She took them out and placed them next to Link, who was starting to look very pale. Zelda quickly commenced in taking off the old bandage and pouring water on the wound. Link shuddered, but made no sound. After dousing it with water, Zelda picked up the bloodied cloth and applied pressure to the wound. She repeated this process several times.

As she began using the last of the water, she frowned. "You should thank me for how nice I am being to you," she said snootily to the unconscious Link. "I'm using up the last of the known water source to save you."

But the cut continued to bleed, even though it had been reduced somewhat. Zelda sighed. "It seems I'll need the help of nature for this one." Nature in the Hylian world was known for being incredibly powerful, especially in terms of healing. But in order for any large amount of power to work, you must give something back to nature, an offering to show your appreciation and gratitude. Nature in their society was extremely sacred.

Zelda approached the nearest tree and began whispering a string of prayers to the Goddesses. She then tore off a small slab of the light, honey-colored bark, slipped off an emerald ring from her left index finger, and wedged it between another piece of bark to secure it. Zelda prayed again and returned to Link. She removed the bloodied bandage in disgust. "That won't do. I'll need something fresh." She went around and gathered a few, large leaves. She then placed the piece of bark (which was dripping with black sap) onto Link's wound, placed the leaves on top of that, and tied it all together with a bottom part of her dress.

After all the time that had passed, it was still dark out, although the moon's position was farther over than before. Zelda lay back in the grass and let out a loud sigh, raising her arms up above her and letting them slowly fall to her sides. "How tiring this saving business is! And to think how much of myself I sacrificed to save you!"

Now that she was not preoccupied, the silence and loneliness around her was suddenly magnified. Crickets were chirping in the tall grass around her, and a wind blew occasionally, but Zelda felt very small indeed. She got up and went over to Epona, stroking her hair. It was then that she noticed another hilt sticking out behind the haversack. Zelda stared at it, and then back at Link. Apparently, it was a different sword. She reached out and touched it lightly, but nothing happened. Sighing with relief, she pulled it out of the loop it was cradled in. Her arms immediately sunk to the ground.

"These swords are heavier than they look," she grunted. "No matter…" She studied the sword closely, but it was simply a plain, old weapon. Zelda then let out a large yawn, as all of the chaos and confusion of the previous hours suddenly weighed down on her more than the sword. Too tired to think about anything else, Zelda dropped the sword on the ground and curled up next to it, her back turned to Link. "Having you guys here is better than nobody, I guess," Zelda whispered. "Although I would be perfectly fine if I just had the horse." Epona neighed and sat down next to Link.

Zelda tried to shut her eyes, but now that she was beginning to process all that had happened she felt wide awake. _Why _am_ I here? Link must have kidnapped me…I don't know why he would, though. But it is the only explanation I can think of…Could he be secretly working for Gannondorf! Yes! That makes sense! For how else would that monster had entered the Castle? _She swallowed and shut her eyes tight. _I wonder what is happening back at home? The return of Gannondorf is certainly bemusing me… And I don't even know what happened to Krishna, Impa, or Father… What if they're…? _

Like a switch, her eyes snapped open and she pounded the earth with her fist in anger. Why am I here?!" she shrieked out into the night. Epona fidgeted nervously, but the earth remained as silent as ever. "Why don't you answer me?" she bellowed. "ANSWER ME!" She then burst into tears, her cries clashing with the soothing jubilance of the cricket song.

Zelda wasn't sure when she had stopped crying and had fallen asleep, but she found herself standing in a meadow of brightly colored flowers. It was daytime. Zelda looked down at herself and noticed that the blood stains were gone. She began singing a ditty Impa had taught her while she plucked flowers.

Hearing the crunching of the earth, she looked up to see a man walking towards her. He was wearing a green garment and had the Master Sword tucked in its sheath. He was smiling warmly. "Hello, Princess Zelda," he said, his deep voice reverberating through the meadow.

Zelda stared in surprise, dropping her flowers. "The Hero of Time! But you're supposed to be dead!"

The Hero laughed lightly. My body may be gone, but my spirit lives on."

Zelda crossed her arms. "Ok, so where's your spirit now?"

A smile spread across his long features. "Residing in your friend, Link."

Zelda snorted contemptuously. "Friend! He is no friend of mine. He ruined my life!"

"By protecting you from evil?" the Hero asked, raising an eyebrow.

Zelda looked dazed. "I don't understand -"

"Zelda," the Hero said. "You must trust Link. His heart is purer than you take it to be."

Zelda rolled her eyes. "I'll never trust someone of his kind. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a flower crown to make." She turned her back to him.

"Do you believe in my existence?" the man murmured quietly, so quietly that Zelda almost didn't hear him.

Startled, she whipped around. "Of course. You're a legend who saved Hyrule from evil!"

"Then do you trust my spirit, which, unlike this ephemeral body, represents my true essence?"

Zelda bit her lip. "…Yes."

The Hero nodded. "Then you must learn to trust in Link."

* * *

A/N: And there you have it. I'm so, SO sorry I've been gone so long! I've been struggling through personal problems for a while..ugg.. and last school year was very sucky and stressful. I had no energy or time to think of ideas for another chapter. I know these sound like lame excuses, but please trust me when I say their true. I really enjoy writing, and I realized why I had been down lately. Because I hadn't written in a freaking long time!!! So I have returned, and I hope to stay for a while. But I do promise that I will finish this story.

So, if you're here to read a story that will be updated frequently, then I suggest you stop reading this. Even though my senior year this year is going a lot better than last year, I'm still busy with homework. At the earliest, I'll update this weekend (I hope!!). That is why this chapter is so short. I can update more quickly if I make the chapters shorter...so, sorry for those of you who don't like short chapters!

Well, I hope you'll review. Thank you VERY much to my previous reviewers. Your comments are so nice and encouraging and helpful!! I hope all of you will return to reading this, even though it has been quite some time.

Will Zelda ever learn to trust Link? Will he gain her respect in return? And will they be able to evade evil?! You'll only find out if you continue to read:)


	8. Learning

**A/N: **Yay, I'm back! Everybody clap...or remain pissed. Hey, it was a shorter wait than last time, right? Right?! 

* * *

It was early dawn when Zelda awoke. Pink and purple swaths were beginning to surface over the horizon line, yet the stubborn night kept its dominance over the sky. Zelda felt extremely weary as her eyes slowly adjusted to the canopy of trees that arched above her like stone towers. She closed her eyes momentarily; every detail of her dream last night played against her eyelids. And each time she had awoken in the night to check on Link, peering into his face, it seemed that the Hero of Time was the one laying in the grass, not a peasant named Link.

And she just couldn't decide what she thought of him. After all, the Hero of Time and Link were two very different people, even if the famous warrior's spirit resided within him… Zelda snorted. _I don't care if you have famous ancestors, I still don't like you._ She sat up, grumbling as a spasm of pain ran through her back. "I miss my bed," she pouted out loud, picturing her rich, satin sheets and plump, feathered pillows. She wondered what condition they were in now… 

"It takes about a week or two, but you get used to the ground," said a cheery voice.

Zelda yelled and bolted up. She turned around to the sight of Link shuffling slowly towards her, holding two large bay leaves that nestled a pile of dead fish. "You're supposed to be near death!" Zelda snapped. "What are you doing wandering around scaring people?!" 

Link smirked. "Such kind words from a princess! I'm feeling a lot better, thanks to you." He smiled slightly, his eyes warm for a brief moment. "I can't believe I'm still alive. I didn't expect much from you."

Zelda, fists clenched together, replied thinly, "I can't get out of these woods alone."

"Well, so my life does mean something to you!" He continued walking towards her, an amused look on his face. 

Zelda swiftly took out a small dagger from the folds of her dress and held the point towards Link, eyes blazing. "Here's the deal: You will bring me back to the castle at once, if you do not wish to feel this blade against your throat."

Link's mouth dropped open in surprise, which quickly turned into roars of laughter. Zelda's gaze intensified in fury. "Silence! Dare you mock me?!" 

Link ceased in his laugher, yet with a graceful flick of his wrist, knocked the dagger out of Zelda's tight grip. "A princess should never handle such a dangerous object," he said in a low voice, striding past the rooted Zelda. Crouching next to the fire that he apparently must have made earlier, he began cooking the fish. 

Zelda remained where she was, fuming silently. She glared at the dagger, lying innocently on the ground. "You were a whole lot of help," she muttered. She sat down, back still to Link, and proceeded to picking the leaves and twigs from her hair and dress. It was a good distraction from the dull hunger that she began to feel throbbing inside of her.

"Breakfast is ready," Link called a little while later. Zelda stood and slowly sauntered over to the fireplace. 

"Oh, food for me?" she said sweetly. "Someone must have left it here. Who would be stupid enough to do that?" Completely ignoring Link, she seized two fish and marched back to her spot. When her face was completely out of view, she chomped on the fish hungrily, ignoring all rules of princess etiquette.

Link said nothing. It was a silent breakfast, yet a silence existing merely between the two. For, as the dark reluctantly receded and the awesome glow of the sun began to peek up its head, the forest rose with it. Birds chirped morning conversation over breakfast worms, squirrels scurried about on the crunchy forest floor, and bugs hummed their concertos. Epona chomped on the luscious green grass that was abundant in the small clearing where they had made camp. 

Zelda, lost in thought, didn't notice the noises Link was making behind her until he called, "Time to pack up. We're leaving." 

Zelda stood up and whirled around, dropping the fish remains on the ground. She couldn't believe her ears. "Do you really mean to take me back to the castle?"

Link's eyebrows furrowed together. "Of course not. It's the most dangerous place to be right now. Gannondorf didn't come last night for tea and crumpets, you know."

Zelda looked livid. "Keep your sharp tongue in your mouth. I remember every detail of last night. Well…until you brutally knocked me out, of course. Care to explain that?"

Link looked slightly guilty. "I'm sorry if I hurt you, but it was the only way to get you away from Krishna."

But Zelda ignored any attempt of apology. In fact, she looked angrier then ever. "And why would you do that?" she hissed. "Krishna was trying to save me! And I would never have chosen to abandon the Hylians, Krishna, or my father!"

Link shook his head slowly. "Those were the King's orders. He instructed that I take you away from Hyrule until the threat of Gannondorf has passed." 

Zelda looked like she had been slapped. Her hands reflexively went to her heart. _Father…_ She looked down, unable to look at Link when she was certain he spoke the truth. But her animosity towards him was as fresh as ever;a small part of her was still reluctant to believe him. 

"Zelda." Her head snapped up to look at Link's solemn face. Zelda thought she saw slight pity in his eyes as well, but she couldn't understand why. "I know you're not going to believe me, but Krishna is…not on our side. He told me himself he's working for Gannondorf."

Zelda's anger was quick to return; yet she was relieved that it did, for it hid her shock. She was not expecting this. "I know Krishna a hell of a lot more than you. Practically my whole life. He's my best friend and I know he wouldn't betray Hyrule!" 

"I'm not expecting you to believe me. In fact, I know you won't. But will you at least acknowledge that what your father told me was true? I'm only doing my duty." 

Zelda closed her eyes and nodded. She was growing tired of arguing and barely had enough energy to process this new information. But she did truly believe Link's words…about her father, anyway. 

Link smiled in relief. "Good. Then we need to get a move on. I'm worried we have lingered here too long. Let us hope Gannondorf has yet to send his minions out to seek us." He walked over to Epona and climbed slowly onto her back, his hand resting over the spot of his wound. 

Zelda sighed and followed Link. She noticed that the fireplace was gone; Link had craftily cleared away any trace that a human had made camp there. Zelda was mildly impressed by this, and felt irritated that she thought so. She silently refused Link's offering hand and got on the horse herself. Link smirked. "Aren't women supposed to ride sidesaddle?"

Zelda rolled her eyes. "Nobody has to be a lady in these woods."

* * *

They rode swiftly for about an hour or so. Epona seemed to morph through the surrounding wilderness with the fluidity of a spirit. At first, the forest looked all the same to Zelda; green, green, and more green. But as the ride continued, and Zelda's previous anger had dissipated, she became aware of the wondrous beauty of nature. No part looked the same at all; very subtle differences could not be overlooked. Zelda kept her arms, reluctantly, around Link's waist; there was nowhere else to hold on to. Both were silent for a long time. 

But the silence grew on Zelda, and she was bursting to ask Link so many questions about yesterday. Having refused to look anywhere in Link's direction, she finally stole a casual glance at him. His expression was stern; his eyebrows were furrowed and his eyes pierced resolutely ahead. 

Zelda felt slightly intimidated by this, but it didn't stop her. She coughed carelessly. Link jumped slightly in her arms, but he said nothing. Zelda laughed to herself. _He probably forgot I was behind him…_ She coughed louder. No response. She then put on a show of a coughing fit, congratulating herself on how realistic it was. 

Zelda smiled in triumph as Link finally whipped his head around in irritation. "Is something wrong?" He tried to keep his voice even, but Zelda was pleased that he was failing at that. 

"I was just wondering where you plan on taking us," she replied innocently. 

Link turned his head back. "Well, as soon as we get out of these woods, I'll have a better idea of where we are."

Zelda's arms instinctively tightened around Link's waist. "Are you telling me that we're _lost?_"

Link shrugged his shoulders unconcernedly. "I've never been in these woods so deeply before, but there has to be an end to them eventually, right?" 

"That is _not_ comforting," Zelda hissed. 

"Don't worry; I've lived in the woods all of my life. I have a great sense of direction."

Zelda groaned and threw her head back. "I'm going to die here! With you! How many hours have we been in these woods? It all looks the same!"

Link sighed. "Please, just trust me, alright?"

Those words brought Zelda's dream back at full force. "I'm trying my best to," she muttered, though truthfully. "It's hard to trust a stranger…"_And to believe the ghost of a long-dead person…_

Link looked back at her in surprise. "You –" But Zelda interrupted him by gasping and pointing in the direction ahead. Link whipped around. In the far distance was an enormous wall constructed from tree trunks. "Well, we're closer to the forest border than I thought! There has to be a town up ahead."

For the first time in a while, Zelda smiled in relief, exhaling deeply. She didn't want anything more right now than to be out of this claustrophobic forest. But then her expression changed to one of worry. "Is it safe to just go strolling into a town when Gannondorf's looking for me?" 

Link nodded. "That's what I've been worried about. But there is so much that we don't know. For one thing, Gannondorf might not even have hold of this town. But he might, in which case he knows we're missing and told his guards to keep watch, or he hasn't realized you've disappeared yet and the news hasn't reached this town yet."

"From legends, Gannondorf doesn't seem the type to be that stupid as to not even know the princess of Hyrule has escaped," Zelda said bitterly. 

"I agree with you. This means we must exhibit caution." A minute or two later, they reached the wall, and Link halted Epona a few feet away from it. He got down and carefully peeked around the edge of the forest to look down the length of the wall. He quickly got back into the trees. 

"What is it?" Zelda whispered.

"Moblins," he said, indicating their direction with a jerk of his head to the left. "Maybe three hundred feet away. There must be a door leading into the town." He put his head in his hands, rubbing his forehead.

Zelda allowed him a minute or two, fidgeting impatiently in the saddle. "Well?" she finally interjected. "What's the plan?"

Link's head emerged from his hands, a hard grimace etched in his features. "I think it might be best if we just avoid this town altogether. It's too risky. We're not even out of Hyrule yet, and getting out of the country is the safest place to be right now." He looked over at Zelda, his eyes narrowing at her sour expression. "Oh, I'm sorry, do you not approve?"

"No, I do not," Zelda said authoritatively. "In fact, it might be the worst thing we could do right now." 

Link stood up from his crouched position and folded his arms. "Didn't I just see two moblin guards? That means Gannondorf has control over this town. If they know to be looking for us, and I would say the princess of Hyrule is pretty damn recognizable anywhere, then it's over for us."

"We don't know how many moblins are in the town. You can take over two moblins easily, can't you?" Zelda said, neither her voice nor expression doubtful.

"That's the thing, Zelda! There are so many things we don't know! And –"

"And there are so many things that we need to find out if we want to play the game correctly," Zelda snapped. "We need information, Link. We can't just go tramping obliviously about the woods! This is a risk that needs to be taken. And the sooner we do this, the easier it will be. Because by the time we reach the next town, the danger of being caught will be higher, for Gannondorf will have to know by then that I'm missing. But he may not know it, yet. Don't you see why this is necessary?" 

Link gazed at Zelda with an impressed gleam in his eyes. "You know what? You're right. It'll probably be the only opportunity we have to be in a town safely. You've definitely surprised me, princess."

Zelda was slightly taken aback, but she hid it with a smirk. "You've finally realized how I'm necessary for our survival: I'm the brains, and you're the body. So, Link, what's the plan?"

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**A/N:** Well, what'd you think? I'm on my spring break right now, which is the only reason I had time to update, b/c I actually had time to. I am sorry you awesome readers and reviewers have to wait so long to read a short chapter...I'm just incredibly busy and stressed out during the school week and don't have enough energy to write. And I take my time writing this story...I do put a lot of effort into it and I'm passionate about completing it, so please keep that in mind. I think I said all of this in my last author's note..sigh..I'm getting redundant, but this site makes me feel guilty! 

Thanks a lot for all who are reading and reviewing my story! It means a lot! For the next two months, I have to concentrate on graduating, so it's unlikely we'll see each other again until the end of May. Until then, have a good one! Oh, one random thing... is Gannondorf spelled with two n's or one? I think I've been spelling his name wrong the whole time...hehe. :)

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